Madrid (PA Media/dpa) -Julian Alvarez is in contention for his first appearance of the season for Atlético Madrid in Sunday’s home La Liga match against Villarreal.
Alvarez was left out of Diego Simeone’s squad for last week’s opening-day win against Malaga amid ongoing speculation over the Argentina striker’s future at the Metropolitano Stadium.
The 26-year-old announced he wanted to leave Atlético during the World Cup in order to “fulfil my dreams,” with Barcelona his preferred destination and Arsenal also linked with a move for the former Manchester City striker.
But Atlético have so far refused to sell to their LaLiga rivals and it has been reported Alvarez is not keen on a return to the Premier League.
Simeone told reporters on Saturday: “Alvarez will be included in the squad for (Saturday’s) match, and he is in a better position in terms of readiness and preparation.
“We will try to manage the match, which will be difficult against a big opponent. We are still in the phase of managing minutes and physical effort, whereas the rival teams do not suffer from this problem.”
Atlético are bidding for back-to-back home league wins after beating Malaga 2-0 last week, while Simeone said Alvarez had been training with his Atlético team-mates “in the best possible way”.
“It is difficult for any individual to determine how someone else feels, because I am not that person,” Simeone added.
“What I see is that he is working in the best possible way, and training with his team-mates with great respect for everyone. I have no doubt about the path we have decided to take with the club, which is to build a big team, as that is our goal.”
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