Having seen his premier attacking threat (Diego Costa) transfer to Chelsea, manager Diego Simeone has returned his attention to reinforcements. The Atletico Madrid boss and club brass are in pursuit of an audacious swap for Manchester United's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Shinji Kagawa, but according to Mundo Deportivo, it'll cost them the services of winger Arda Turan.
Per the reports, the Turkish player would be requested in any transfer deal between the two clubs. Atletico are preparing a €31.5 million bid for both Hernandez and Kagawa instead.
As ambitious as United's pursuit of Turan is, the club will be hard pressed convincing him to exit the project spearheaded by Simeone in the Spanish capital. The 27-year-old made his allegiance to the club abundantly clear ahead of Wednesday's friendly with Galatasaray. "I'm working hard," he said at a press conference on Tuesday (via Inside Spanish Football). "I'm with the best club in Spain. I'm part of this system. The young Turkish players should leave [like I did] in order to develop their technique."
Last season, Turan finished with the fourth-most chances created by an Atletico Madrid player (33). Only Wayne Rooney (56) and Patrice Evra (38) created more for Manchester United in 2013-14. His propensity to be fouled (43 fouls suffered) indicates his ability to translate his game to the physicality of the Premier League.
Undoubtedly, van Gaal's pursuit of Simeone's prized possession would serve as an immediate upgrade for a club desperate to return to prominence.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via Squawka).
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