Atletico Madrid to rival Chelsea for Serie A defender

Atletico Madrid want to find a long-term replacement for Filipe Luis at the end of the season and have earmarked Napoli full-back Elseid Hysaj as a potential replacement, claims AS.

Luis is out of contract at the end of the season, by which point he will be close to turning 34, and Diego Simeone has made finding a long-term replacement one of his top priorities next summer.

Luis Hernandez has deputised for Luis in the past but his future looks to be at the heart of Atletico’s defence, with Diego Godin reportedly set to join Inter at the end of the season.

Atletico are now pondering a move for £45m-rated full-back Hysaj, who is versatile and can play on either side of the defence.

The Spanish giants can expect to face competition from Chelsea for the Albania international, as former Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri has been pursuing the defender ever since he left to join Chelsea last summer.

Hysaj has reportedly turned down Napoli’s offer of a new contract to further boost the chances of his departure in the near future.  Since joining Napoli in the summer of 2015, Hysaj has only missed 11 league matches for the club.