Barcelona remain confident of signing Julian Alvarez despite Atletico Madrid stance

Barcelona remain confident of signing Julian Alvarez despite Atletico Madrid stance Barcelona have just announced their second signing of the summer, and it was none other than Karim Adeyemi whose signing was confirmed after some delays. The Catalans have now made two attacking reinforcements this summer, with the previous arrival being that of Anthony Gordon. They are, however, far from done. All of Barcelona’s efforts are currently directed towards securing the signing of a new centre-forward and Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez is their top target. The club have, however, begun to explore alternative options in case they cannot sign the Argentine star. Internal optimism Nonetheless, as reported in a recent update by El País , Barcelona’s officials believe they have what it takes to sign Alvarez this summer. More than any other front, they believe they are capable of closing the deal financially and that their budget can accommodate the Argentine star. Barcelona can afford Alvarez. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images) However, they also refuse to disclose the upper limit sum they are prepared to offer for Alvarez, and understandably so. After all, Atletico Madrid will have an advantage in the negotiations if they know the Catalans’ upper limit and can artificially inflate their transfer fee until every last penny has been extracted from Barcelona. Negotiations are yet to begin While Barcelona may well have a clear price point in mind beyond which they will not push, negotiations must first begin for it to be of any relevance. The player must take the next step. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) As matters stand, Atletico Madrid are refusing to negotiate with Barcelona and insist that Alvarez will remain at their club next season. All doors are currently locked and a negotiation thus appears out of reach. A lot, however, can change if the player comes out and makes a public statement of intent. Alvarez has already spoken out once about his desire to leave Atletico Madrid, but claiming to wish to join Barcelona would be a far more powerful statement. The Blaugrana expect the player to take the next step forward and hand them a gesture to build the negotiations on. The coming weeks, needless to say, will decide whether or not Alvarez will be in the garnet-and-blue colours next season. Should he decide to make a statement, a move can materialise although it will remain complicated.