Atletico Madrid News
Barcelona in talks with Atletico Madrid over two operations ahead of summer window
Despite a fatigued relationship after the entire Antoine Griezmann fiasco, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are still willing to work on not one but two deals ahead of the summer transfer window, including one involving a certain Joao Felix.
As relayed by journalist Ruben Uria on OnzeTV3, the two La Liga teams are trying to work things out again out of necessity, mostly because the team from the capital city is going through a tough financial time after being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.
Now, it must be noted that Joao Felix’s links with Barcelona are not something new. In fact, the Blaugrana have made several attempts in the past to get him on their roster.
It was reported that during the Griezmann negotiations, Barcelona wanted to include the Portuguese in the deal, but Atletico straightway rejected the proposal.
However, several things have changed since. To begin with, Felix, who joined Atletico for a whopping €120 million, is not getting enough time this season, having played a mere 486 minutes in the league.
Secondly, now that they are no longer in the Champions League and are also out of the Europa League, they need to sanction sales in order to generate revenue and as it seems, Felix remains their biggest cash cow.
From Barcelona’s perspective, there is absolutely no need for the team to sign a player like Felix mostly because there are already many options at Xavi’s disposal. This means the only way they can use the Portuguese is like an understudy of Robert Lewandowski.
The Pole, who is in the final years of his career, remains Barcelona’s only number 9 and Felix truly knows how to acquire the position. His agent, Jorge Mendes, has a good relationship with Barça president Joan Laporta and could help facilitate an arrangement.
For the moment, Felix is not the only name that is being discussed by Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. There is another player that the two teams are talking about, although the details of which are not clear at this point.
Atletico Madrid News
Atletico Madrid monitoring teenage striker with €40 million release clause – Romano
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Atletico Madrid are among the clubs monitoring the progress of UD Almeria striker Marciano Sanca.
The 19-year-old Guinea-Bissau forward joined Almeria from Portuguese outfit Leixoes in January last year, linking up with the club’s B team.
Marciano has made three league appearances Almeria’s reserve team and has not scored a goal yet. The teenager has been training with the first-team setup regularly and Romano claims that he is close to making his debut in La Liga.
While he might not have made a splash at the senior level yet, Marciano seems to be already gathering admirers with Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Brighton & Hove Albion said to be tracking the youngster.
Los Rojiblancos are set to enter the market for a new centre-forward as Joao Felix is expected to be sold permanently while Alvaro Morata’s future is also not entirely certain.
So even though Diego Simeone has Memphis Depay, Angel Correa, and Morata at his disposal, Atletico Madrid will dive into the market for a new striker with there being links to Mateo Retegui of Boca Juniors, currently on loan at Tigre.
Now, Marciano has also emerged as a potential target or Atletico Madrid, although signing him will not be easy in the summer.
Even though the 19-year-old’s contract expires in 2024, he is bound by a release clause worth €40 million and Almeria intend to keep him at the club beyond this season.
So, the La Liga club might hold out for the entire release clause amount in order to stave off potential suitors like Atletico Madrid, who are not in a position to make such an investment on an unproven youngster.
