After looking at Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik and Real Sociedad’s Willian Jose as possible targets, Atletico Madrid have decided to settle on Lyon striker Moussa Dembele as the replacement of Diego Costa.
The table toppers recently terminated Costa’s contract, allowing the player to become a free agent. The Brazilian born striker is currently yet to agree his next project, but is one of the most sought after players in the world right now.
According to Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Madrid are closing in on Dembele and are looking to sign the player on a loan deal with an option to buy in the future. An agreement has been reached between the two clubs, and the medicals will take place soon.
Dembele has only started 6 games for Lyon this season. He has come off the bench 10 times, and has only managed to find the back of the net once in the French league. The Frenchman previously featured for Celtic, and came through the ranks at the Fulham academy, making 64 appearances for the Cottagers and scoring 19 goals for them.
Although Lyon find themselves at the top of the table right now in Ligue 1, they have done most of the hard work without a lot of involvement from the 24-year-old. His talents will be much better utilised at Atletico Madrid, with a partnership alongside Joao Felix that could take the Rojiblancos to the La Liga title this season.
Fabrizio Romano has stated that the deal will soon become official, and given the track record of the Italian journalist, it is only a matter of time before we see Dembele holding up a red and white shirt.