Julian Alvarez has realistic Premier League alternative to cashless Barcelona that would suit everyone

Julian Alvarez isn’t going to get his dream move to Barcelona – but Arsenal could be the perfect club for him to join instead.

That’s the view of talkSPORT’s European football expert Andy Brassell, who thinks Alvarez would be ideal for the Gunners.

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The Atletico Madrid forward looks certain to leave the Spanish side this summer, despite the club saying he’s not for sale.

Alvarez dropped a transfer bombshell earlier this week, straight after featuring in Argentina’s 2-0 World Cup win over Austria.

He stated that he wanted to ‘fulfil his dream’ and get the move away from Atletico to join La Liga rivals Barcelona.

But Brassell can’t see it happening and thinks a return to the Premier League for the ex-Manchester City striker may be on the cards.

“This could be one of the transfer sagas of the Premier League summer,” Brassel predicted on Alvarez’s future to talkSPORT.com.

“Alvarez himself lit the blue touchpaper…he wanted to admit that he wanted to move on [from Atletico Madrid].

“I think we all know the move that he wanted. It was Barcelona. They have been keen for a while.

“This has been a bit of back-and-forth between Atletico and Barca…a lot of social media sniping between the two, of course.

“Atletico feel that Barca have overstepped the mark, mainly because Barca don’t have the money to complete this deal.

“Atletico paid over £77m for Alvarez when they bought him two years ago, he has a £431m buyout clause, so there’s no way that Barca can force them to sell at a rock bottom price.”

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He continued: “So there’s a bit of a problem for Barca in that sense, a problem accentuated by Real Madrid.

“Florentino Perez mischievously made a £129m bid on Real’s behalf when Alvarez had no intention of going there, and the club had no intention of signing him either.

“But what he did pushed the price up and put Barca in a spot that they couldn’t get it down to what they want to pay, which is £86m.”

Where could Alvarez end up instead?

So, with Barcelona being priced out and therefore missing out on their man, who could swoop in to get the wantaway Argentinian?

Brassell believes a move to Arsenal, who are interested in Alvarez, could be on the cards, with Manchester United also an option.

“It’s never felt that Alvarez or at least his entourage have been fully into the idea of staying at Atletic long term,” he admitted.

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“Now, Arsenal reportedly have held a long-term interest, longer than Barcelona, so to see them back in the picture makes total sense.

“Arsenal went out and bought their No.9, and I think Viktor Gyokeres is sometimes looked at in the wrong way, as the guy to take them to the next level.

“He kind of did in a way, by offering them something different, not by being the best striker in the world or anything like that.

“Now that is more Alvarez’s territory – he’s someone who can really lead a team.

“He has heart and soul; he gives everything in every game. He does so much running…can create on his own, score from within the penalty box, from range, can set up others.

“That is really why he’s a player so many managers will want, and it seems Manchester United are interested as well.”

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‘A terrific spot for him’

Brassell then went on to weigh up the realistic possibility of a deal for Alvarez to come back to the Premier League happening.

He explained: “The difference between Arsenal and Man United [and Barcelona] is they [the English clubs] have the money, they have the money to satisfy what Atletico are going to want.

“Atletico are not wanting a world-record fee or anything like that, the buyout clause is just a negotiating position.

“I think they’ll take something around the £129m price.

“That will be a palatable price for Man United or, more likely, Arsenal to pay for someone who can make a massive difference.”

On what Alvarez could bring to Mikel Arteta‘s side, Brassell added: “He’s world-class, there’s no doubt about it…only eight league goals last season, but in the Champions League he was brilliant…load management would help him be consistently world-class.

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“Arsenal would be a great spot for him, not just because they’re current Premier League champions and Champions League finalists.

“But he is someone who will be going into a really stacked squad and get a chance to shine at the right moments, not to play every game.

“It would be a terrific spot for him. It would be a plus for Arsenal as well, I don’t think they have a player like him, there aren’t many players in football quite like him either.”