Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has approved Atletico Madrid’s bid to sign Marco Verratti from French club side Paris Saint-Germain to reinforce their midfield ahead of the 2023/2024 season.

Atletico Madrid finished third in the La Liga season table last season behind La Liga champions Barcelona and second-placed City rivals Real Madrid and only securing the Champions League places.

Marco Verratti has been linked with a potential exit from the French capital with growing frustration about developments in the club and the direction they are taking. He has been linked to Italian club side Roma with Jose Mourinho also reportedly interested in the signing of the midfielder.

Despite being on contract at PSG until the summer of 2026, Verratti was approached by Roma, but they were unable to convince him to join the club; irrespective, PSG are also ready to sell the midfielder for the right price.

The 30-year-old Italian midfielder has been at PSG since 2012, when he joined from Italian side Pescara, and last season, he played 38 games in all competitions as the club won the French League.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid themselves have been involved in a sizable number of summer transfer activities as Matt Doherty left the club after the expiration of his contract, while Sergio Regulion returned to Tottenham Hotspur after the end of his loan stint.

The team got Antoine Griezmann on a permanent basis at the end of his loan move from Barcelona, and they also were able to bring in Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea on another free transfer.

Caglar Soyuncu and Joao Felix were the other additions from the Premier League, with the former joining on free from relegated Leicester City. At the same time, the latter is a loan returnee from Chelsea.

Matheus Cunha and Renan Lodi are also back from the Premier League after spending last season on loan at Wolves and Nottingham Forest.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu