Diego Simeone is stubbornly still including Julián Alvarez in his plans for 2026–27 and beyond, even though the striker has publicly declared his desire to leave Atlético Madrid.Alvarez shocked reporters in the aftermath of Argentina’s World Cup win over Austria last month when he revealed: “The best thing for everyone is a transfer and I want to fulfil ⁠my dream.”The player said he had already spoken to Atlético officials about it. Alvarez did not name Barcelona, or any club, but a Camp Nou transfer is widely perceived to be what he meant and it has been reported that Atlético blame Barcelona for the player going public.Complaints have been filed with FIFA and Spain’s soccer federation (RFEF). Barcelona will feel there is plausible deniability given that Alvarez kept it vague, as president Joan Laporta has pointed out: “He didn’t mention Barça ... we didn’t force this.” But Laporta added there is an offer that is “still valid.”Alvarez the ‘Best’ Atlético Have HadThere is high praise coming from Simeone. | Gongora/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesSimeone plainly doesn’t accept that a transfer, as Alvarez put it, “is best for everyone.”The Atlético boss is publicly determined to keep the 26-year-old as a central piece of his team.“He is the player we, as a club and as a team, envision as someone to build our play around,” Simeone told ESPN Argentina this week. “This is what we have been doing since he arrived and it remains our thought.”Simeone went on to say that Alvarez has been the “best we’ve had at Atlético” since his 2024 arrival. As a fellow Argentine, the boss is hopeful of seeing his player thrive for the national team in what remains of the World Cup.Alvarez Alternatives Barcelona Could SignEgypt stars Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush stand out for different reasons. | FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty ImagesIf Atlético are serious about keeping Alvarez, potentially against his wishes, Barcelona would have to look elsewhere to replace Robert Lewandowski in the No. 9 role.The ideal target would probably be Harry Kane, who fits a similar profile to Lewandowski when the Pole arrived in Catalonia four years ago. The England captain only has one year left on his Bayern Munich contract, leaving the door at least slightly ajar for Barcelona, but reports in recent days suggest that the decision has been made to extend.Kane is happy in Germany, even if Barça have reportedly explored how to finance a potential transfer.One proven striker it is possible to sign without dealing with another club is Dušan Vlahović, following his release into free agency after his Juventus contract expired.At his best, the Serbian frontman scored over 20 goals in multiple seasons in Serie A, but his numbers ultimately fell at Juventus because he didn’t fit the system as well as at former club Fiorentina. General creativity was also lacking, which isn’t a problem when Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Anthony Gordon and Pedri are your support act.A left-field shout could be Mohamed Salah. The 34-year-old spent his Liverpool career on the wing but it could make sense in a more technically-focused competition such as La Liga to move centrally—a false nine if not a traditional center forward. He wouldn’t go into the team in front of Yamal anyway.Speaking of Egyptian stars, what about Omar Marmoush? Rewind two years and it was frustration at playing in Erling Haaland’s shadow that helped drive Alvarez out of Manchester City, which is a potential problem now for Marmoush, too.Last season was poor because the 27-year-old didn’t thrive in a stop-start rhythm, named in Premier League lineups only eight times. He previously scored almost a goal per game in the Bundesliga during a breakout 2024–25 with Eintracht Frankfurt.READ THE LATEST TRANSFER NEWS AND RUMORS FROM WORLD SOCCERAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow