Barcelona Adjusts Strategy to Secure Alvarez Deal

Barcelona continues its attempts to secure the signing of Argentine Julian Alvarez, despite the challenges of the deal and the tight timeframe. In recent hours, the Catalan club has altered its strategy to facilitate the transfer of the Atletico Madrid forward to Camp Nou.

According to Spanish newspaper "AS", Deco, the sporting director of Barcelona, held a meeting in Madrid with Fernando Hidalgo, the agent of Alvarez. The meeting resulted in the adoption of a new approach based on dialogue and diplomacy instead of waiting for a public move from the player.

Under the new plan, Alvarez will not make any public statements regarding his future. He will return to Atletico Madrid training as scheduled, then hold a meeting with coach Diego Simeone and the club's management to reiterate his desire to leave, insisting on a move to Barcelona only.

AS reports that the stance of Diego Simeone and Miguel Angel Gil, the CEO of Atletico Madrid, has been crucial so far in rejecting the player's departure. However, the club will need to assess the risks of retaining a player who has informed officials of his desire to leave, especially with his agent insisting on a previous promise to allow him to depart if a suitable offer arrives.

Alvarez believes that Barcelona's offer represents a suitable option for both parties, which Atletico Madrid does not agree with at this time. Meanwhile, dialogue between the player and the club will need to coincide with Barcelona improving their financial offer to complete the deal.

According to the same source, Barcelona initially started its first offer at less than €100 million, before raising it to €100 million. The current proposed bid is around €120 million, in an attempt to enhance its chances of securing Julian Alvarez's services.