Barcelona sound out Mikautadze and Lautaro as £65m Álvarez pursuit remains blocked

Barcelona are exploring alternatives to Julián Álvarez after Atlético Madrid refused to budge on their stance, with sporting director Deco’s department making contact with Villarreal striker Georges Mikautadze’s entourage and holding a preliminary meeting over Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martínez, according to Sport and Gerard Romero.

Álvarez remains the club’s stated priority. The Argentine returned to training with Atlético this week and, per Sport, told Diego Simeone in a meeting ahead of Wednesday’s session that he still wants to join Barcelona. Atlético have shown no willingness to negotiate a sale, leaving the deal at a standstill.

Unwilling to wait indefinitely, Barcelona’s recruitment staff have widened their search. Mikautadze, 24, has emerged as one of the leading names under consideration. The Georgian international is reported by several local outlets to have given his personal approval to a potential move to Camp Nou, though talks remain far from advanced.

Villarreal signed Mikautadze from Olympique Lyonnais in September 2025 for €31m plus €5m in variables, tying him to a six-year deal through June 2031. The Yellow Submarine are now seeking between €60m and €65m — a figure Barcelona consider more attainable than the cost of extracting Álvarez from the Metropolitano, even if it would still represent a substantial outlay.

Mikautadze’s debut season in Spanish football yielded 15 goals and six assists across all competitions, contributing to Villarreal’s third-place finish in La Liga — above Atlético Madrid — and a second consecutive Champions League qualification. His ability to operate as a central striker and in wider attacking positions under Marcelino has added to his appeal within Barcelona’s recruitment department.

Deco also travelled to Madrid to meet Alejandro Camaño, the agent of Lautaro Martínez, to assess the Inter captain’s situation should the Álvarez pursuit collapse entirely. That meeting does not constitute an active negotiation, but it confirms Barcelona are testing multiple avenues simultaneously rather than committing to a single fallback.

With the transfer window running down and Atlético showing no urgency to engage, contact with Mikautadze’s camp at least gives Barcelona a clearer picture of his willingness to move and the financial terms Villarreal would require to open formal discussions.