Barcelona & Man Utd alerted as Atletico Madrid pounce on €28m Napoli star
- Nima Tavallaey Roodari (@NimaTavRood)
According to the report the deal will not be made when the transfer window opens this January but one that Simeone intends to launch for when the transfer period reopens in the summer of 2018. The Argentinian tactician is worried that he might lose Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco during the summer and wants to be prepared in such an event.
This has led the Los Conchoneros to set their sights on Napoli's Belgian international Dries Mertens who has demonstrated at Napoli that he knows how to play as a striker as well as a winger. This means that should both Griezmann and Carrasco leave, then Simeone could replace them both with one signing and therefore are prepared to pay the minimum release fee clause in his contract by making an offer of €28 million to Napoli. The deal is however far from concluded as Manchester United, Bayern Munich as well as Barcelona are monitoring the situation closely and are expected to have their say before all is said and done.