RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Flick only wants 26-year-old World Cup winner as Barcelona rule out alternatives
Barcelona have spent almost the entire transfer window trying to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid.
Los Colchoneros have maintained the same resolute stance since then: the 26-year-old Argentine is not for sale this summer, especially to Barça.
The Catalan club submitted their first bid for the player before the World Cup, but negotiations have not moved an inch since.
Barça briefly flirted with options like Joao Pedro and Eli Junior Kroupi, with Lautaro Martinez’s name also being floated around in recent days.
Now, according to Gerard Romero , Hansi Flick is not interested in pursuing Victor Osimhen, Dusan Vlahovic or Lautaro Martinez.
The German coach is clear that he does not want any of the alternatives the club may find more attainable.
Flick has one clear priority
Only Alvarez and nothing else for Flick. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Instead, Flick’s attention remains firmly on Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez.
Osimhen, Vlahovic and Lautaro are all proven international forwards with impressive goalscoring records.
However, none of them fit Flick’s vision for Barcelona in the same way as Alvarez does, forcing the German to take such a stance.
That underlines how specific the club’s recruitment strategy has become. The club simply do not want to strengthen the squad with numbers.
Instead, they are focused on bringing in stylistic fits that Flick actually wants to have in his squad.
Ferran Torres’ impending exit
The bigger problem that Barça are facing is the fact that their only other striker in the squad, Ferran Torres, is on the verge of joining PSG.
Ferran close to leaving Barcelona. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The Spaniard is not expected to join the club’s training along with his Spanish team-mates today, as he finalises a move to France.
This means signing a new striker is not optional for Barça this summer. If Flick wants only Alvarez, Barcelona need to figure out how to get Atletico to at least the negotiating table.
In many ways, this is a catch-22 situation for the Catalan club and one they need to find their way out of carefully.
The appeal of signing Alvarez is obvious, but the Catalans cannot afford to put all their eggs in one basket this close to the end of the summer window.
Deco and company need to be smarter in their chase for a new striker, and it remains to be seen whether Barcelona manage to sign Alvarez between now and the end of the month.
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