Atletico Madrid have emerged as surprise contenders to sign James Rodriguez from rivals Real Madrid.
The Colombian international has been widely linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, after manager Zinedine Zidane indicated that he would not be part of his plans for the 2019-20 season.
Rodriguez, who spent the last two years on loan at Bundesliga superpower Bayern Munich, has attracted interested from Italian side Napoli, after the German side declined to take up their purchase option on the former AS Monaco midfielder.
However, no deal has been reached with Carlo Ancelotti's side, and now according to reports in Diario AS, Diego Simeone is interested in bringing Rodriguez across the Spanish capital – just as he has done with Marcos Llorente.
Real Madrid are determined to recoup some of the £63m they paid for him in 2014, and will demand in the region of €45m for Rodriguez, with Atletico able to fund more transfers following the departures of Rodri, Gelson Martins and Lucas Hernandez – and potentially Antoine Griezmann.
