Barcelona are going for an absolute onslaught on the summer transfer window. Just hours after confirming the €70m deal for Anthony Gordon, Barcelona are on the verge of submitting the first official offer to Atletico Madrid for striker Julian Alvarez.
The report is confirmed by none other than Fabrizio Romano himself. The opening bid will be in the region of €100m and equals the maximum budget set by Barcelona for a marquee number nine.
The deal is being personally overseen by Joan Laporta to accelerate the transaction as he seeks to finalize the move before the club's rivals disrupt the agreement. Alvarez has made life much simpler for the board with reports circulating that he has made his close circle aware, "I want to play for Barcelona". His clear stance will put huge pressure on Atletico Madrid to buckle on their valuation of the player.
The rationale for the double swoop
The hurried successive transfers show the broader strategy from Deco and Hansi Flick's attacking unit. They want to secure their targets before the FIFA World Cup, in case the players' market values plummet after a good run in the tournament.
Securing Gordon does not detract from the pursuit of Alvarez; they are seen as two completely separate deals. Barcelona are building a more dynamic, unpredictable attacking unit rather than having to select between the two.
We can expect a highly fluid, interchangeable attacking structure; mirroring the way the top teams like PSG set up.
Gordon's pace and elite crossing abilities on the flank, coupled with the capacity to operate in central areas of the attack will add much more to Barcelona's team. Alvarez's world-class movement and tactical intelligence as a number nine will be all Hansi Flick needs to successfully operate with his high intensity pressing system.
Testing Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid made it clear that they need €150m for the services of their Argentine talisman but with the forward refusing to sign a new deal, and more importantly, with his priority to join Barcelona being crystal clear, the negotiation dynamic between the two Spanish clubs has been changed.
Barcelona are using their €100m bid to test the patience of Atletico Madrid. Now that the player himself has stated that Barcelona is his absolute priority, keeping an unhappy player at the club becomes a difficult situation for the Madrid based side if they refuse a record proposal. This is where Laporta is looking to apply pressure and force a swift resolution.
The speed at which the board is acting to complete both deals suggests that if Laporta succeeds in acquiring Alvarez to complement Gordon, Barcelona will be heading into the new season with a completely reinvented, world-class attack.
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