Julian Alvarez will be in the Atletico Madrid squad for their LaLiga match against Villarreal this weekend, head coach Diego Simeone has confirmed.
The Argentine striker is set to make his first appearance of the season at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday after ongoing transfer links to Arsenal and Barcelona. He was left out of the 2-0 win over Malaga on Wednesday as he builds up his fitness following a post-World Cup break.
“Julian Alvarez will be in the squad tomorrow,” Simeone said at his pre-Villarreal press conference on Saturday. “For me, Julian is an extremely important player for us to achieve our objectives. As long as he’s with the team, I’m going to look after him.”
Simeone also criticised the insulting chants aimed at Alvarez by a small section of Atletico fans during the Malaga game. He reiterated that the former Manchester City forward will definitely stay at the club, following the latest defiant quotes from CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin.
Atletico supporters are angry at Alvarez for having publicly declared his desire to complete a “dream” move to LaLiga rivals Barcelona. A banner criticising his conduct had circulated on social media ahead of the Malaga match.
Barcelona saw a €100million (£85.6m) offer for Alvarez rejected by Atletico earlier this summer, while a shock €150m (£130m) bid from Real Madrid was also rebuffed in very public fashion.
“I respect our fans, I always have, but I don’t agree with insults or abuse,” Simeone said. “Every word is being scrutinised by people waiting to create conflict and uncertainty. There is no uncertainty. Miguel was very clear. He [Alvarez] is our player and we need him.”
Speaking to Spanish news agency EFE on Friday, Gil Marin suggested that Alvarez had been badly advised during his transfer saga.
“Atletico Madrid, like every big club, is built on great players, and Julian is one of them, as well as being a great professional,” he said, per ESPN. “We have to compete with our values, with homegrown players and the best players we can bring in from outside. We are going to help Julian and continue to look after him, so he can reach his full potential… we must understand that Julian hasn't had the best advisors around him in recent months.”
Alvarez’s agent, Fernando Hildago, later uploaded a cryptic post to Instagram which did not reference Alvarez or Atletico, reading only: “Never ask a liar why they lied. To explain it, they would have to lie again.”
Source: www.standard.co.uk — Read the original article
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