Atletico Madrid preparing for 5th exit as talks with agent scheduled | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid could be looking for a replacement for their fifth exit of the January transfer window, with Thiago Almada’s future up in the air. The 24-year-old is due to hold talks with the club in the next week.

Almada arrived in the summer in a €21m deal from Botafogo in Brazil. After a promising start, an injury halted his progress, but he has now played just 619 minutes in 17 games. During those outings, he has contribued two goals and an assist. Beyond his disappointing amount of game time, Almada is desperate to make his case to be in Argentina’s World Cup squad, placing some urgency on the matter.

His natural position is occupied by Alex Baena, while Antoine Griezmann, Alexander Sorloth, Julian Alvarez and Nicolas Gonzalez are all ahead of him in the pecking order in the other offensive roles he can occupy.

Agent to arrive for talks with Atletico Madrid

Almada’s agent is scheduled to arrive in the Spanish capital for talks in the next week say Diario AS, and MD assure that one way or another, his future will be resolved in the next two weeks. Diego Simeone has assured that he values Almada, but he will no doubt want guarantees.

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Atletico Madrid set €20m asking price

The Catalan daily say that they will negotiate from €20m for 50% of his rights onwards, having turned down a €20m offer from Gremio. Flamengo, Benfica and Palmeiras have all expressed an interest, while AS also mention Bournemouth as a potential destination this winter.

El Desmarque add that Almada was reportedly ‘very angry’ that he started on the bench during Atletico’s 1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna in the Copa del Rey earlier this week. Other sources have indicated that his spot on the bench was due to disciplinary measures, further foggying the picture.