Barcelona will soon lodge a bid for Atletico Madrid superstar Julian Alvarez, reports Fabrizio Romano, alongside their pursuit of Anthony Gordon.
Cash-strapped Barca seem to be going hard in the summer transfer window. Weeks after winning the La Liga title, the Spanish giants are looking to further the gap between themselves and the rest of the division.
They have long been linked with Atletico star Alvarez, who scored 20 goals and assisted five more in all competitions this season.
Romano reports Alvarez has made it clear to the Madrid-based club that he wants to leave, and rejected an offer to remain in search of a new opportunity.
It's been suggested his dream is a move to Barcelona, and that could be soon to come true.
Indeed, Romano states that Barca are preparing their first official bid for Alvarez, which will be a flat fee with no players included in it.
That's after a direct meeting with Alvarez's intermediaries. It's not clear what the value of the bid they plan to send will be, though reports suggest Atleti want €125million (£108m) for the Argentine.
Reports elsewhere state Paris Saint-Germain would be willing to match that price, so Barca will be hopeful that they can convince their Spanish rivals to sell to them, or they could be in danger of being beaten to the superstar by the European champions.
How they are going to finance deals for both Alvarez and Anthony Gordon amid a period of financial instability is unclear.
Barca nearing Gordon move
Indeed, Romano has also suggested that Barca have had a bid which will total €80million (£69.3m) accepted by Newcastle for Gordon, who will surely take the place Marcus Rashford held this season.
Should both Gordon and Alvarez join for their expected prices, Barca would be parting with €205million (£177m).
For a club who spent just €27million (£23.5m) last season, being able to make such a huge jump feels unlikely. With that said, perhaps their lack of spend has helped them to bring more money in and better balance the books than they have in previous years.
What's more, transfers are structured over a number of years, and the club will bring in a lot of income over the course of the deals being paid off, which is how they may be able to afford two very expensive attackers.
The signings of both Alvarez and Gordon, if made, should add to the potency of the Barca attack, and given they just won the La Liga title, it would be hard to bet against them doing so again next season.
But while Gordon's bid has been accepted and his medical will take place on Thursday, Alvarez's move is still in the very early stages, and there's no guarantee that it'll get done.
