Barcelona consider surprise move for Julian Alvarez alternative | OneFootball

It’s no secret that Barcelona are working on a deal to sign Julian Alvarez this summer, but Atletico Madrid are not playing ball. They are determined to hang on to the Argentine striker for at least one more season, and if they do not relax their stance, the Catalans will almost certainly have to look towards other options.

The likes of Joao Pedro, Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen have been mentioned as possible Alvarez alternatives, but with €80m already spent on Anthony Gordon and the possibility of two defenders coming in, they may be limited in the funds, especially if they fail to sell a number of players that are not counted on by Hansi Flick.

Because of this, low-cost options are also being considered by Barcelona sporting director Deco, and according to reports in England (via MD), one of those is Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan striker is expected to agree a mutual contract termination with Al Hilal at some stage during the summer transfer window, and that would mean he can be picked up as a free agent.

Barcelona have been offered the chance to sign Nunez by his agent Jorge Mendes, who has a close relationship with president-elect Joan Laporta. He was discussed during previous discussions on Joao Cancelo, who is an Al Hilal player that the Catalans definitely want to bring in, albeit they are currently not prepared to meet the Saudi Pro League side’s demands.

Would Nunez be an acceptable Alvarez alternative?

Image via Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images

As far as a striker option goes, Nunez could be a good one for Barcelona. He was inconsistent during his spell at Liverpool, but he was very good during his previous spell in Spanish football with Almeria. However, there would undoubtedly be strong question marks over whether he is good enough to be the club’s starting number nine.