Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone closes the door on Barcelona move for Julian Alvarez | OneFootball

With just over three weeks to go until the summer transfer window closes, Barcelona are still yet to sign a new striker. They are still hoping that a deal can be done for Julian Alvarez, although there has been little progress made in recent weeks.

Atletico Madrid have made it clear, both to Barcelona and Alvarez himself, that they will not do business with a direct rival. They are open to negotiating with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, whom the Argentine striker has also attracted interest from, but they are not prepared to listen to offers that arrive from Catalonia.

Atleti are preparing for Alvarez’s return next week, as was made clear by head coach Diego Simeone when he spoke to the media (via Marca) in the last 24 hours.

Time for Barcelona to move on from Alvarez

It is imperative that Barcelona do not continue to chase Alvarez up until the transfer window closes, as they could be left without a striker. They have already started considering other options, but it is now imperative that they step up plans to sign one of them, as it looks very unlikely that Atleti will open the door for Alvarez.

It remains to be seen how the situation with Alvarez evolves over the coming weeks, but right now, it is very unlikely that he joins Barcelona.