Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone reportedly wants a marquee signing this summer, and has three strikers in mind to fire his side to success next season.
Los Rojiblancos suffered heartbreak again at the end of last season, as not only did they fall short in their La Liga title bid, but they fell to another defeat in the Champions League final at the hands of city rivals Real Madrid.
In turn, Simeone will want to strengthen his squad where possible to make them an even bigger threat to their rivals next season, and according to Marca, he has three names in mind that will take his side to the next level.
Amongst them is former star and current Chelsea striker Diego Costa, who struggled at Stamford Bridge last season with injuries and form.
Whether or not he would be interested in a return remains to be seen, as there is the factor of having an opportunity to be part of Antonio Conte’s plans next season to consider.
Meanwhile, both Gonzalo Higuain and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also on the shortlist of targets, but again, both will command significant transfer fees and will be difficult to prise away from Napoli and Borussia Dortmund respectively.
As noted by Marca though, money shouldn’t be an issue for Simeone and Atleti, as they have between €50-60m to spend on the big-name player this summer, which in turn would mean that their signing would be the most expensive transfer in the club’s history.
The fees that they received for Falcao and Jackson Martinez, coupled with the increase in revenue from television rights, have put them in a strong financial position and they are seemingly poised to make a significant move this summer.