Roma stole La Liga top scorer, Atletico turn to the second-placed one

If the La Liga top scorer is no longer an option, the second-placed on the list could do the job as well. Atletico Madrid have apparently come to terms with the fact that they have lost the race with Roma for Girona forward Artem Dovbyk and have turned to another option, Alexander Sorloth. The Villarreal forward scored 23 goals last season, one less than the Ukrainian.

As per Relevo, the talks between the two clubs have already started, but Villareal would like to keep the Norwegian for one more season. However, Sorloth has a release clause of 38 million euros, and if Los Colchoneros opt to activate it, Villarreal won't be able to keep the forward. Nevertheless, that amount is too high for the Madrid club, and whether they will be able to persuade the Yellow Submarine to lower the price remains to be seen.

Interestingly, Roma were also initially interested in Sorloth. The Italians reportedly offered Villarreal 30 million euros, but the side from Estadio de la Cerámica rejected the bid. That just proves that Atletico is up for the challenging task of convincing Villareal to let the Norwegian go.

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Sorloth arrived in Villareal last July from RB Leipzig in a transfer worth 10 million euros. However, no further adaptation was needed since he spent two seasons on loan at Real Sociedad. The previous season in a yellow jersey was the 28-year-old's most productive. He scored 23 goals in La Liga and three in UEFA Europa League. Atletico are in a difficult situation, as they need an urgent replacement for Alvaro Morata, who moved to AC Milan, but it seems that the negotiations with Villarreal will be pretty challenging.