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Arsenal have renewed optimism that they can sign Julian Alvarez in January after the Atletico Madrid star finally opened his stance to a move.
Alvarez was desperate to leave for Barcelona during the summer but a deal was blocked by Atletico, while the 26-year-old refused to consider moving to any other club despite Arsenal being keen to strike a deal.
With Atletico unwilling to sell to Barcelona, Alvarez eventually remained in Madrid but TEAMtalk has claimed that the Argentine international is still unwilling to stay at the club in the long-term and would now ‘seriously consider’ a move to Arsenal.
Arsenal could now look to revisit a deal, having held face-to-face talks with Atletico after indiciating they would be willing to pay more than €100 million for Alvarez during the summer.
Discussions were understood to have been left on good terms and, crucially, opened up conversations about Arsenal players who could be exchanged in any deal, such as Viktor Gyokeres, Ethan Nwaneri or Noni Madueke.
Arsenal are now understood to be willing to include Madueke in a deal for Alvarez, having held off on signing another forward in the hopes that they could resurrect a deal for the Atletico star or a player of a similar pedigree instead of bringing in a stopgap.
Julian Alvarez: Atletico star open to Arsenal move as Barcelona look towards Haaland
Alvarez is said to have remained in professional after the close of the summer window but, having failed to start a game in La Liga so far this season, the player’s long-term future is still in doubt.
Arsenal are now emerging as Alvarez’s first-choice alternative to Barcelona after the player’s camp help talks over his future in recent weeks, including the acceptance that there are a limited number of clubs capable of satisfying his ambitions if he decides to leave Atletico.
Alvarez’s stance has also been affected by Barcelona’s interest, which is still strong but also dwindling due to the emergence of other targets such as Erling Haaland, who could leave Manchester City if they receive a significant punishment for their financial breaches.
A move to the Saudi Pro League is not believed to be part of Alvarez’s current thinking, despite the finances potentially on offer, while Paris Saint-Germain’s interest has cooled and Bayern Munich are behind Arsenal in any race.
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