Atletico Madrid are on the lookout for deeper midfielders this summer, as they seek to give captain Koke Resurreccion both some competition and a rest next season. One of the candidates for a long-term approach to that role is related to a Real Madrid icon.
Jonathan Varane, brother of Manchester United star Raphael Varane, made his breakthrough into the Sporting Gijon side towards the end of last season, starting all of their final 10 games as a pivot in Segunda. The 21-year-old started off in their B team, but ended up as a regular, making 18 appearances.
Coming through the Lens academy, as Raphael did, Varane joined Sporting last summer, and hasn’t taken long to make an impact.
Diario AS say that Atletico Madrid Sporting Director Andrea Berta is looking at Varane as a potential signing for their B team, who have just been promoted to the third tier. He would train with the first team and play with the B side when not needed by Diego Simeone.
However they are not without competition. Benfica and Feyenoord are also scouting Varane, and Sporting are hoping to bring in around €5m for the youngster.
If that is the fee, then it seems less likely that Los Colchoneros would push the boat out for Varane. The have been frugal in recent years, and do not have a stellar record of bringing through youngsters.
That said, there are signs they are trying to reverse that trend, with the likes of Santiago Mourino and Samuel Lino signing on in the past two summers.
