Atleti keen on Higuain

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is eager to bring Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain back to the Spanish capital.

The Italians signed the 28-year-old, nicknamed ‘El Pipita’, from Real Madrid in summer 2013 for a reported €37m, and he has responded with 71 goals from 104 League appearances.

However, Marca reports that Simeone has made him his first choice target for the summer and conveyed his wishes to chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin when the pair met in Buenos Aires this week.

Higuain fits the profile of what Simeone wants for his team and the player will need no time to adjust to the demands of La Liga, having spent six years at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Nonetheless, Atleti will not have it easy if they want to secure the Argentina international’s signature. Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis is understood to have intimated that bidding will start at €90m, although Los Colchoneros will attempt to significantly reduce that figure.

The Madrid club remain confident a deal can be reached, but will turn to either Chelsea’s Diego Costa or Edinson Cavani of Paris Saint-Germain should it prove prohibitive.

Tags Higuain Napoli
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