Atletico Madrid have made progress in talks with Manchester City to sign Julian Alvarez, in a deal that could have a domino effect on the striker market.
Atleti have made Alvarez a top target as Diego Simeone looks to reinforce his forward line with the Spanish side having submitted an official offer for the Argentina international.
Alvarez is open to leaving the Premier League champions in search of a more prominent role and the Citizens reportedly value the World Cup winner at around €50m.
The Athletic claim that the La Liga side’s progress in talks for Alvarez has ‘softened their stance’ on the sale of Samu Omorodion, who is the subject of interest from Chelsea.
Chelsea are set to submit a bid of around £35m for the 20-year-old, who scored eight goals in 34 appearances on loan at Alaves last season.
The sale of Omorodion is required to finance the deal for Alvarez, though his exit depends on the latter agreeing to the move to Atletico Madrid.
Chelsea’s potential signing of Omorodion will not impact discussions with Napoli over a deal that would see Victor Osimhen head to West London.
The two teams have held negotiations over the transfer of the Nigeria international, in a deal that would see Romelu Lukaku move to Italy in exchange. Chelsea are keen to sign both Omorodion and Osimhen with the former viewed as one for the future.
