According to The Athletic, there are currently two players being considered by Atletico Madrid in their efforts to replace the departed Diego Costa.
It’s never ideal when a first-team player departs midseason, but if Costa was kicking up a fuss, Atletico did the right thing by allowing him to leave before he risked unsettling the dressing room.
Costa has also left Atletico before the transfer window has even begun, giving Simeone and co plenty of time to secure a replacement and thus ensuring they’re not left short in the attacking department.
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According to The Athletic, while it has been less than 24 hours since Costa departed, Atletico have already identified Real Betis’ Loren Moron and Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik as potential targets.
Seeing as they didn’t receive a penny in exchange for Costa, they don’t have any cash to reinvest into that position. That’s certainly reflected by the calibre of players being targeted.
Milik is the more prolific of the two, but Aurelio De Laurentiis is a notoriously tough negotiator. Atletico’s hierarchy could have an uphill challenge getting a deal done – but they have plenty of time to do so.