Kondogbia completes €10m move to Atletico from Valencia as Simeone lands Partey replacement

Geoffrey Kondogbia has completed a €10 million move to Atletico Madrid from Valencia on Tuesday morning, replacing Thomas Partey in Diego Simeone's squad.

Goal confirmed the final fee over the weekend, with Kondogbia committing his future to Atletico through to 2024 after reaching an agreement to depart Valencia.

Los Rojiblancos were given special permission to sign the 27-year-old after seeing Partey join Arsenal for €50 million (£45m/$59m) on deadline day, with La Liga setting a November 5 deadline for Simeone to bring in a player to fill the Ghana international's boots.

Atletico announced Kondogbia's arrival via an official statement on their website, which reads: "Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement with Valencia for the transfer of Geoffrey Kondogbia who will play for our club for the remainder of the year and three more seasons.

"A talented player arrives at Atletico Madrid, with great physical power that makes him rule the centre of the field.

"His good ball stealing also makes him stand out when it comes to intercepting opponent's attacking plays, making him a very complete midfielder both for defensive tasks and for cutting-edge work when mounting counter-attacks. 

"Thus, we welcome a player who joins our project with the greatest enthusiasm."

Atletico have benefitted from La Liga's rule which allows any club that sees a player leave after having their release clause triggered to sign a replacement from Spain within a four-week period.

Kondogbia was heavily linked with a move away from Valencia during the summer transfer window, with Tottenham among a long list of clubs reportedly interested in his services, as the Spanish club sought to balance their books by selling a number of first-team stars.

The Central African Republic international has now followed the likes of Dani Parejo, Ferran Torres and Rodrigo out of the Mestalla exits, bringing to an end his three-year spell with the club.

Atletico's newest signing initially joined Valencia on loan from Inter in 2017, before earning a permanent move the following year.

Kondogbia went on to appear in 104 games in all competitions for Valencia, but hit out at club president Anil Murthy for "destroying" the team earlier this month.

The former Inter midfielder joins an Atletico side currently sitting fourth in the Liga standings, and could be in line to make his debut when they take on Cadiz at Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.