Julian Alvarez was completely left out of the Atletico Madrid squad for their opening La Liga match against Malaga on Wednesday. The notable exclusion came amid strong speculation linking the Argentina forward with a move to Barcelona, although Diego Simeone maintained that the attacker simply needs more training time after his recent international duty with Argentina.

Alvarez was missing as Atletico Madrid began their La Liga season with a 2-0 win over Malaga on Wednesday. While the Argentine was not involved, Ademola Lookman started up front as the lone striker and completed the full match. Second-half goals from Kang-in Lee and Alex Baena sealed the victory.

Even so, Alvarez has been at the centre of intense transfer talk, with both Barcelona and Arsenal keen to sign him. Despite the player’s wish to leave, Atletico Madrid have stood firm and pointed to a release clause of €490 million. The club have effectively closed the door on any negotiations.

As per the Mirror, manager Diego Simeone addressed the matter directly and said the omission was only because of fitness concerns after the World Cup final, and not because of any imminent transfer.

Notably, Baena was included in the squad and even got on the scoresheet despite having spent a similar period away on international duty. Explaining his decision, Simeone said: "I deal with the sporting side. [Julian] is an extraordinary lad. We spoke, as we always do... We need more training sessions with him. He's the best player we have in attack, I've said that and I still think that. I want to build a team around him."

Despite Simeone’s insistence that Alvarez remains a key part of his plans at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, the player appears to be highly unhappy with the present situation. Reports suggest that Simeone and Alvarez held face-to-face discussions in which the forward again expressed his wish to leave for Barcelona.

It has also been reported that Alvarez showed his frustration during recent training sessions. In his official photograph released on Wednesday, Alvarez was clean-shaven and clearly scowling, which stood in sharp contrast to his usually cheerful manner over the previous two seasons. Simeone admitted there was outside noise around the issue, saying: "People will have their opinions. I'm very respectful of people's opinions, I always have been in these situations - Diego Costa, [Antoine] Griezmann and now Julián."

What happens next?

Alvarez will continue training with Atletico Madrid as he works to improve his match fitness before their next game at home to Villarreal on August 23. With the transfer window moving towards its close and the club asking for an unrealistic €490m fee, Alvarez is likely to have to accept that his immediate future remains in Madrid. Barcelona, meanwhile, may need to turn quickly towards alternative attacking options if they are unable to finance a historic bid.