Sporting director Deco has kept Álvarez as the club's clear priority up front, and Barcelona remain hopeful the Argentine's own desire to force the move will eventually persuade Atletico Madrid to engage, even after the Madrid club rejected an offer worth around €100m several weeks ago.
Álvarez has told executives and coaching staff at the Metropolitano that his wish is firmly to play for Barcelona, a stance the Catalan club is banking on to eventually break the deadlock.
Luis Suárez, the Colombia international at Sporting CP, has been floated as an alternative name on Deco's list, but sources at the club stress he is not viewed as head coach Hansi Flick's plan B for the position — merely one of several forwards under consideration should the Álvarez deal collapse entirely.
The 28-year-old, under contract in Lisbon until 2030 and valued at around €30m, would be a far cheaper option than Álvarez, but Barcelona would still need several other avenues to close off before turning to him seriously.
Suárez has built his career through a series of loan spells and lower-division stops in Spain, including Granada B, Real Valladolid B, Nàstic de Tarragona and Real Zaragoza, before finding consistent form at Almería and later Sporting, where he scored 31 goals last season to prompt Newcastle's interest — a move the Premier League club abandoned once Sporting's asking price reached around €80m.
For now, Barcelona's focus remains squarely on completing a deal for Álvarez, who has already left the door firmly open to a move by making his own preference clear to Atlético.
The club's forward line has been thinned by the departures of Robert Lewandowski and the imminent exit of Ferran Torres to Paris Saint-Germain, adding urgency to Deco's search regardless of which direction it ultimately takes.