Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez is attracting interest from city rivals Real Madrid, according to a report.
Los Blancos are said to be in the market for a new centre-back as Raphael Varane has informed the club he wants to leave in the summer.
Spanish outlet AS claims that Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly is the top choice of Zinedine Zidane, but president Florentino Perez - who will ultimately have the final say - prefers Gimenez.
The report indicates that Perez took the 24-year-old to one side for a chat in December when they both attended the Copa Libertadores final at the Bernabeu, which is a familiar tactic of his.
However, Gimenez only signed a five-year deal with Atletico in 2018 and, unless Real are willing to pay his £100m+ release clause, they will struggle to persuade their rivals to sell.
Written by
Daniel Lewis
Daniel Lewis
