Diego Simeone has insisted he remains ready to welcome Julian Alvarez back into the Atletico Madrid fold as the stalemate surrounding the striker’s proposed transfer to Barcelona continues.
The 26-year-old was absent from three training sessions this week and has been ruled out of Saturday’s fixture at Sevilla, with Atletico standing firm in their refusal to sell him to a La Liga rival.
While Arsenal remain front-runners in the race to sign the former Manchester City forward, Atletico’s head coach told a press conference that he has not given up hope of reintegrating the player.
Simeone said: “I understand that all the questions will be about Julian. The club has been very clear about what will happen.
“From a sporting perspective, I hope to help him continue being as important as he still is. My focus is on Sevilla, where he won’t be available.
“When he returns, we’ll give him everything he needs to feel important. In life, anything can be reversed, as long as we have our health.”
Atletico have issued two public statements reiterating their refusal to sell Alvarez to their rivals, leaving a move elsewhere as the only realistic outcome.
A statement released by the club’s board read: “The members of Atlético de Madrid’s Board of Directors have unanimously expressed their absolute support for the club’s decision to not negotiate the transfer of Julián Alvarez to FC Barcelona.
“The members of the Board of Directors acknowledge that Atletico de Madrid is open to standard transfer market negotiations when conducted in a professional, ethical and respectful manner. We fully stand behind the club’s previously communicated position that FC Barcelona failed to meet these requirements and, as a result, there will not be any negotiation and there is zero consideration of an Alvarez transfer to Barcelona.”
The forward’s absence is particularly significant for Atletico given that fellow striker Sorloth is also currently unavailable due to a muscle injury.
Summer signing Cristian Romero, who joined Atletico from Tottenham, will travel with the squad but is unlikely to feature in the starting line-up.
“We have to face an opponent coming off two wins who will be very confident going into tomorrow’s match,” said Simeone. “We’ll have to steer the game in a direction where we think we can hurt them.”
