Atletico Madrid will make one more attempt to sign Espanyol defender Mario Hermoso before the start of the 2019-20 season.
Diego Simeone's side have been linked with the Spanish international since the start of the summer, however their interest had looked to have cooled in recent weeks, with the Catalan side happy to keep hold of their star centre back.
The 24-year old is reported to be open to a move to the Wanda Metropolitano, with Los Rojiblancos open to paying his €40m release clause before the season starts, according to Marca.
The only issue for Atletico Madrid remains some concerns within the board over the value of the deal, as Hermoso only has a year left on his current contract at the RCDE Stadium, and could be signed for free from January 2020.
Simeone has already strengthened his defensive unit so far during pre-season, with Felipe Monteiro and Renan Lodi coming in as replacements for Juanfran, Diego Godin and Lucas Hernandez.
