Atletico Madrid are said to be in front of Barcelona for Sevilla’s Kevin Gameiro, while other reports say Barca have cooled on the forward.
AS claim Gameiro has leapt to the top of Diego Simeone’s wanted list as getting Diego Costa from Chelsea looks unlikely and Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would have a prohibitive salary.
Gameiro, Mauro Icardi and Carlos Bacca are the next three in the order of priorities with Gameiro preferred by Cholo, though there are those at Atleti who aren’t giving up on the ‘impossible’ Costa or Aubameyang as the club has pulled off ‘impossible’ transfers before.
But Atletico lead Barca for Gameiro as it appears they have the money to pay his €40m clause right away and Barca don’t, and Sevilla’s Vice-President has insisted Gameiro won’t leave Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for anything other than the full amount of his clause.
Mundo Deportivo meanwhile says Barca have cooled on Gameiro because of the price and the Catalans are close to giving up on the idea of signing an experienced back-up forward, instead focusing on a younger option, with Luciano Vietto topping that list.
Barca are reluctant to get involved in the trend for exorbitant prices, the report adds, but Sevilla argue that if Barca can pay €20m for a left-back – Lucas Digne – they can pay significantly more for an experienced forward.
Vietto is now the objective of sporting director Robert Fernandez but he’s also said to have two more names on his list, though they’ve not as yet been confirmed.
