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Barcelona may not have managed to sign Julian Alvarez this summer, but the club’s interest in the Atletico Madrid striker is still very much alive.

According to a fresh report from El Larguero, Barcelona are already weighing up another attempt to take the Argentina international to Camp Nou, with January or, more likely, June 2027 seen as the next possible windows for a move.

Reporter Santi Ovalle says Barcelona intentionally kept aside the money they had been ready to spend on another elite No. 9, as the club remain convinced that Alvarez is the ideal option for their long-term project.

“They’ve saved the money they were going to spend on a top ‘9’ to go after him again,” Ovalle said.

It is worth noting that Barcelona eventually moved for Gabriel Jesus, bringing in the Arsenal forward to solve their immediate requirement for a central striker.

Even so, that signing should not be seen as the end of their pursuit of Alvarez.

Barcelona spent a large part of the summer trying to work out a way to prise Alvarez away from Atletico, but the Madrid side never showed any willingness to enter into negotiations.

Alvarez will remain at Atletico Madrid, but only for the time being.

Atletico’s stance was especially firm: they had no intention of negotiating with Barcelona for the Argentine attacker.

With that resistance in front of them, Barcelona eventually accepted that completing a deal in the summer was not realistic.

Instead of continuing to chase a transfer that looked unlikely to happen, the Catalan giants chose to meet their short-term attacking need by signing Gabriel Jesus.

Interestingly, however, their preferred target has not changed.

Ovalle explained that Barcelona’s interest is tied to a much broader idea than simply covering the position for this season.

“The truth is that Barça doesn’t want Julian for this transfer window; they want him for a five-year project.

“Therefore, they are going to come back for him, if not in January, then probably in June.”

Barcelona are expected to return for Julian Alvarez next year.

The decision not to spend big on another striker says plenty.

Barcelona apparently did not view the other available options as convincing enough to justify using the funds that had been set aside for a marquee No. 9.

Instead, the club seem prepared to wait for the right moment to revisit the Alvarez situation.

“Barça is still interested in Alvarez. In fact, they have saved the money they were going to spend on a top striker because none of the options convinced them.

“They are convinced, as we’ve been saying in recent days, that Julian is better than any other striker.

“So they’re saving the money they were going to spend on a new one to come back and explore the transfer market,” the journalist concluded.