“Julian Alvarez or nobody”
Barca have made their position clear. Hansi Flick hinted on Wednesday that the club could wrap up its summer window without signing a striker if it fails to land Julian Alvarez.
“I think the president made pretty clear statements yesterday, and Deco and I are fully aligned with him,” the German coach said at his news conference. According to several reports, Flick, Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco met on Tuesday to settle the club’s stance: it will be Alvarez, or nobody else.
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100 million euros on the table
Laporta himself confirmed early in the afternoon that Barca were “standing by their offer” for the Argentine, valued at 100 million euros, in the hope of persuading Atletico Madrid to sell. The Madrid club still sees Alvarez as untouchable.
Jeered on his return to action last weekend, the 2022 world champion missed Wednesday morning’s training session, officially because of illness, according to Atletico.
Flick shuts the door on plan B
The German, who has started the season without a No 9 after the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, says he still has “full faith” in his current squad. “I don’t want to talk about Julian. We have made some very good signings in this transfer window. The club also has to think about the future, not just the present,” he explained.
Without Alvarez, Flick will have to make do with Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez or the new arrivals Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi up top. Barca, the back-to-back Spanish champions and 5-0 winners at Elche in their La Liga opener, host Athletic Bilbao on Thursday at Camp Nou, with Rodri expected to make his Blaugrana debut.
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