Atletico Madrid sign Augusto Fernandez from Celta Vigo for €6.5m

Atletico Madrid have reportedly signed Augusto Fernandez from Celta Vigo for €6.5 million. The central midfielder will reunite with Diego Simeone, who he played under at River Plate. Fernandez comes in as a replacement for Tiago Mendes, who broke the tibia in his right leg earlier in the season.

The 29 year old Fernandez will sign a contract with Atletico until 2019 and will earn €1.8 million net per season. The versatile midfielder will be a massive loss for Celta Vigo. He had featured in 14 league games to date this season and was their captain and midfield anchor.

Diego Simeone tends to keep ties with players he respects and Fernandez is obviously one of those players. With Matias Kranevitter's imminent arrival in Madrid, Fernandez could possibly act as a mentor to the youngster. They have had similar paths and Fernandez will surely be able to acclimatise Kranevitter to Spanish life and football in a hurry.

In purchasing Fernandez from Celta Vigo, Atletico Madrid have also weakened a direct rival for Champions League football. The two teams play each other on the 10th of January at Balaidos and it remains to be seen what kind of atmosphere greets Fernandez.