La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are reportedly preparing to enter the race for Barcelona attacker Alexis Sanchez.
The Chile international, who last night helped his side to a 2-0 victory over Spain which saw the defending World Cup holders crash out of the tournament with a game to spare, is the subject of strong interest from Serie A giants Juventus.
However, Italian source TuttoSport claims Atletico head coach Diego Simeone is keen to spend a chunk of the transfer fee his club will receive from Chelsea for hitman Diego Costa and has identified Sanchez as the man to fill his boots.
The Champions League finalists are said to be aware of the fact that Barca would like to sign their defender Miranda and have not ruled out the possibility of a swap deal, which would see them jump ahead of Juve in the queue for Sanchez.
Atletico believe they can capitalise on Barca’s desperation to strengthen their much-maligned defence.
They will have to act fast, however. Even though Sanchez is unlikely to move before Chile’s World Cup campaign comes to an end, Juve have already made contact with his representatives.
The 25-year-old, who has two years remaining on his contract at the Nou Camp, scored 19 goals in 44 appearances for the Catalan side last term.