Atletico Madrid had €20m and €22m summer offers for defender rejected by Valencia
Atletico Madrid were on the hunt for two central defenders during the summer. Robin Le Normand and Clement Lenglet ended up being the ones to arrive, although the latter certainly was not a top choice for the club’s sporting department.
‼️ César Azpilicueta is expected to start at left center-back against Valencia on Sunday. Reinildo will be rested after playing two full games during the international break.@marca pic.twitter.com/Qj5UVpa2qm
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) September 14, 2024
An agreement was Le Normand was sealed in July, and alongside him, Atleti tried to sign numerous options. One of those was Cristhian Mosquera, although Valencia refused to relinquish him in the end as no proposals reached their asking price of €25m.
Diario AS have reported that Atleti made two offers for Mosquera during the summer: the first was for €20m plus add-ons, while the second had a fixed fee of €22m. The total packages came close to €25m, but Valencia were demanding that figure as an upfront payment, which Los Colchoneros were not comfortable with.
Atletico Madrid may return to the bidding for Mosquera in 2025, as they will need a centre-back again when Lenglet ends his loan spell. It will be interesting to see whether they can meet Valencia’s demands on that occasion.