Atletico Madrid are interested in Benfica goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos as a replacement for Jan Oblak if the Slovenia international leaves Wanda Metropolitano this summer, GOAL and SPOX can confirm.
Oblak has been linked in recent weeks with a move to Newcastle United, which would see him follow former team-mate Kieran Trippier to Tyneside, and is open to a Premier League switch.
His exit would leave a major hole to fill for Diego Simeone in La Liga, but Atletico may well have already found their man in Greece international Vlachodimos, currently one of the standout performers in the Primeira Liga.
What is the situation?
So far, Atletico's scouts have observed Vlachodimos as a prime candidate to replace Oblak if he is to leave Madrid after a fruitful spell between the posts.
However, there is yet to be any contact between the club and the player's agents over a potential transfer from Portugal to Spain.
In addition, La Liga's reigning champions are not the only side to have kept an eye on him in the past year, with Marseille, Lille and Newcastle themselves having all reportedly wanted him last summer.
What has been said?
Vlachodimos has not directly commented on Atletico's interest, but admits he would be interested in a move to one of Europe's bigger leagues, while stressing he remains happy in the Primeira Liga.
"Benfica is a big, great club and I feel extremely comfortable in Lisbon," he told GOAL and SPOX. "Every footballer has the dream of playing in one of the four top leagues at some point, that's quite normal.
"But I've always done well by concentrating on myself and my performance. And I do that in every Benfica game."
The bigger picture
Both Vlachodimos and Oblak will have to contend with immediate domestic and European concerns before any potential move may sprout up in the summer.
Benfica and Atletico both progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday, with victories over Ajax and Manchester United respectively.
Their prospects of league titles, however, look slim, with the former a dozen points off table-toppers Porto and the latter well out of reach of Liga leaders Real Madrid.
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