Barcelona remain ‘crazy’ about signing Argentine World Cup star but won’t increase their offer – report | OneFootball

Barcelona’s summer pursuit of a new number nine rumbles on, with the club still yet to properly fill the void left behind by Robert Lewandowski.

Julian Alvarez has long been identified as the ideal man for the job, but Atletico Madrid’s stubborn stance has made life difficult for the Catalans.

And while the desire to sign the Argentine remains, Barcelona are refusing to lose their heads over the deal.

Barcelona won’t go beyond €100m

All eyes on Alvarez’s future. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona continue to hold a strong interest in Alvarez but will not increase their €100 million offer, submitted back in late May.

Despite Joan Laporta suggesting last week that the final week of July was the deadline for that proposal to expire, there is no sense of panic at the club. Barcelona are content to bide their time and will not be drawn into anything reckless.

Part of that calm stems from the business already done up front. With Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi both arriving following Marcus Rashford’s loan expiry, Barcelona feel they already have plenty of firepower.

Ferran Torres, who has not informed the club of any desire to leave, can operate as a centre-forward, as can Dani Olmo and even Raphinha.

Hansi Flick still wants another top-level striker, but the prevailing feeling internally is that the club will not sign players just for the sake of it, especially with few elite options available at reasonable prices.

Barcelona are being singled out

Atletico do not want their star man to join a direct rival. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

The bigger obstacle, however, is Atletico’s outright refusal to do business with Barcelona.

Miguel Angel Gil Marin has made his stance abundantly clear, effectively blacklisting the Catalans, and Atletico are unwilling to sell their prized asset to a direct rival under any circumstances.

Barcelona, for their part, will not propose player-plus-cash deals to break the deadlock, largely because Atletico simply refuse to negotiate.

Instead, Atletico are only willing to entertain offers from Arsenal, with Viktor Gyokeres included in the deal, or PSG, with whom they finalised the signing of Kang-in Lee.

Alvarez, summoned back for August 10, must now decide whether to force the issue once more, while Barcelona wait patiently without stress.