Julian Alvarez ‘demands’ Chelsea superstar signing at Atletico Madrid to ‘rekindle’ partnership
Julian Alvarez has reportedly ‘demanded’ Atletico Madrid sign his former River Plate team-mate Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea, as he wants to ‘rekindle’ their partnership.
Alvarez is starring in his first season with Atleti. He joined them in an £81.5million move from Manchester City in the summer, where he’d already become a star, but not the main name in the team.
He is certainly one of the big boys at Atleti, with 26 goals and five assists to his name. His tallies include seven goals and one assist in the Champions League.
Atletico are currently third in La Liga, three points behind second-placed Real Madrid and seven points below leaders Barcelona.
But Alvarez wants a transfer who could help push his club closer towards the La Liga giants. According to Fichajes, he has ‘demanded’ the ‘top signing’ of Chelsea superstar Fernandez.
It’s said he ‘wants to shine’ alongside his old acquaintance, who he played with at River Plate. Indeed, it’s reported Alvarez wants to ‘rekindle’ the relationship the pair formed in Argentina.
In their careers, he and Fernandez have played together on 76 occasions. More than half of those came for River Plate, though the pair have often shared the pitch at national level with Argentina.
They have assisted each other six times, and have only ever been on the losing side in 12 of their 76 games together. They seemingly have a good relationship which could help Atletico, were they able to sign Fernandez.
The report states the Chelsea midfielder ‘sparks the interest’ of manager Diego Simeone, too, who’d be interested in adding him to the number of Argentine stars in the side.
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It’s also stated that Fernandez could command a fee in the region of €80million (£68.5m approx). But given he cost Chelsea almost £107million, it seems unlikely his price would have dropped quite as dramatically.
It’s stated Atletico are ‘assessing the impact a deal of this magnitude would have’. As such, there might be a chance that they make an attempt for Fernandez, but whether the Blues would be open to letting him go as entirely different question.
As for the midfielder himself, it’s stated he ‘welcomes the idea of a change of scenery’.
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