Atletico Madrid are in talks with Villarreal over the transfer of Alexander Sørloth after a deal for Girona striker Artem Dovbyk fell through, sources have told ESPN.
Atletico are understood to have had an agreement in place for Dovbyk to replace Alvaro Morata last week but negotiations broke down after his agent raised his financial demands at the last minute.
Dovbyk's agent has said he is not convinced by Diego Simeone's offer. The Girona striker is reportedly set to leave for Roma.
“Atletico is a big club, but we haven't seen a serious project for Artem. Their offer in financial terms is significantly lower than that of other clubs interested in the top scorer in La Liga,” Dovbyk's agent Oleksiy Lundovskyi told UkrFootball.
It has been reported that Atletico changed their terms at the last minute, however club sources have denied this to ESPN.
Atlético have turned their attention to Sørloth, who they have had their eye on since the beginning of the summer.
Atlético hope to reach an agreement despite knowing that they also have competition for his signing from other clubs.
A source told ESPN that Sørloth is tempted by the idea of leaving Villarreal to move to the Premier League or play under Simeone.
Sørloth, who scored 26 goals last season, has a buyout clause of 38 million euros ($40 million) but Atletico hope to lower that amount slightly.
Meanwhile, sources have told ESPN that Atletico are making progress in talks with Chelsea over Conor Gallagher.
Simeone wants a midfielder and while Mikel Merino is also being considered, ESPN previously reported that Gallagher is more likely due to financial reasons.
Atlético also consider Gallagher's profile to be very interesting if he can adapt quickly.
However, Chelsea want at least 40 million euros for Gallagher and other clubs such as Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested.
Atletico are also interested in Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, who wants to play more regularly.
Alvarez has said he will make a decision about his future after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Asked about Alvarez, City manager Pep Guardiola said: “When he thinks about it, his agent will call Txiki Beguiristain and we'll see what happens. I know he wants to play more important games but the rest of the team does too.”
However, Atlético do not want to get their hopes up because they know that there are several teams, including Paris Saint-Germain, who are also monitoring the situation of the Argentine striker.
Sources have told ESPN that it will be a matter of patience and calm, and that a solution is not expected until mid-August at the earliest.
