RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Diego Simeone says he will "do everything" he can to make Julian Alvarez "feel important" at Atletico Madrid when the forward returns to training, as uncertainty continues over his situation at the Spanish club.
It comes as Atletico Madrid made it clear that they would not sell him to Barcelona, with a move to Arsenal looking like the striker's only way out.
Simeone confirmed Alvarez will not travel with Atletico for Saturday's La Liga game at Sevilla saying he is not currently in good health, having missed his third consecutive training session on Friday.
"From the moment he returns to training, I will do everything I can to make him feel important," said Atletico manager Simeone.
Asked whether Alvarez's situation could still be reversed, Simeone added: "As long as you have your health, everything in life can be turned around."
This week the La Liga club released two public statements in the space of 24 hours reiterating their stance that Alvarez will not be granted his wish to join Barca in the coming days.
Simeone said he understood why questions about Alvarez would dominate his news conference but insisted the club had already been "forceful and clear" in explaining the situation.
"I'm still in the same position, hoping, from a sporting point of view, to be able to help him in the best way so that he continues to be the very important player he is for us," he said.
"Julian will not be there [on Saturday] against Sevilla, who have just won two games and will be high with confidence."
Injured Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth is also unavailable, leaving Atletico without two attacking options.
"Sorloth's absence hurts us. He's very important for us," Simeone said.
"In this situation with Julian, it has much more impact. The team will try collectively to find solutions to score goals and win. We are working with them on that awareness. We are going to try to improve it collectively."
Simeone also rejected concerns that the uncertainty surrounding Alvarez could affect his squad.
"Honestly, no," he said. "The boys are working very well, especially the World Cup players. The team played good matches against Malaga and Villarreal and we are focused on playing a good match [against Sevilla]."
New defender Cristian Romero, who joined Atelti from Tottenham for 40m euros (£34.2m) this summer, will travel with the squad to Sevilla, although Simeone said: "He needs time to find his best form and we will not speed up the time to rush him, so that he feels that he is in a position to perform as well as he should."
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