Arsenal make £72m ‘offer’ for Spain star as Barcelona ‘give up’ on Alvarez in huge Gunners boost | OneFootball

Arsenal have made an ‘offer’ to sign Barcelona star Dani Olmo as they get a boost in the race to sign Julian Alvarez, according to reports.

Alvarez has made his feelings clear in recent weeks with the Argentinian looking to leave Atletico Madrid this summer.

Barcelona has emerged as the former Manchester City striker’s preferred destination as he looks to challenge for major honours next term.

However, Atletico Madrid are determined that they won’t sell to Barcelona this summer for any money but they are more open to sanctioning a sale to Arsenal.

And, in a big boost to Arsenal, reports in Spain are claiming that Barcelona ‘have given up’ on signing the Argentina international this summer.

The report adds: ‘Atlético de Madrid remain firm in their refusal to negotiate for the Argentine, and the Catalan club doesn’t want to wait indefinitely. In this scenario, Eli Junior Kroupi, the Bournemouth striker and one of Hansi Flick’s favourite targets, has reappeared.’

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes recently urged Arsenal to break the bank to sign Alvarez with a lack of top-class strikers in world football.

Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: “If Atletico Madrid want £100m, any big club needs to go and get him. Just go and get him.

“There’s not even a debate. I don’t think there’s loads of top-class centre-forwards knocking about. I don’t see him as an out-and-out centre-forward, he’s more of a drifter.

“Atletico Madrid won’t want to sell him to Real Madrid or Barcelona. If he’s £100m – [England midfielder] Elliot Anderson has just gone for £116m – and Alvarez is a match-winner. What a signing that would be.”

Arsenal recently missed out on signing Morgan Rogers with the Gunners not willing to match the £117m fee that Chelsea paid to sign the England international.

That means that Arsenal are still looking to bring in a top-class attacking midfielder before the end of the summer transfer window.

Arsenal make an ‘offer’ for Spain star Olmo

And now reports in Spain have insisted that Mikel Arteta has ‘made it very difficult’ for Barcelona president Joan Laporta with a €85m (£72m) ‘offer’ for Spain international Olmo.

The report adds: ‘Arteta is a great admirer of Barça’s number 20 and would be delighted to have him at his disposal. He knows, of course, that it’s not a simple operation, but he will try to convince the star player, born in 1998, to whom he can guarantee a very prominent role should he arrive in London. This is precisely what he has lost in Hans-Dieter Flick’s systems, who seems much more inclined to favor Fermín López.

‘This could be an important factor that makes Olmo hesitate, and causes him to seriously reconsider his departure from Spotify Camp Nou, to start an adventure with Arsenal.’