Reports: Atlético make “irresistible” offer for Rodrigo Moreno

In their quest for a hypothetical Antoine Griezmann replacement — remember, he hasn’t confirmed if he’s even leaving or not — Atlético Madrid have been linked with several strikers from around the continent. But one of the more polarizing names to be connected with a move to the Wanda Metropolitano is Rodrigo Moreno.

Rodrigo is in the midst of a great campaign following several marred by injury and inconsistency. The 27-year-old has bagged 15 goals in 31 games in LaLiga and saw a run of six consecutive games with a goal snapped in a 2-1 loss at Barcelona on Saturday. He won LaLiga’s Player of the Month award for March and should join Iago Aspas and Diego Costa in Russia this summer.

That kind of form has led to the player being the subject of a huge, “irresistible” offer according to COPE Valencia. Onda Cero Valencia goes a step further, saying this offer is an eye-watering €80 million — and AS put the cherry on top by identifying Atlético as the bidder.

Eighty million euros is a ton of money for a player with just one great season under his belt over four years in Spain. If the rumor of a tabled bid is true, Atlético surely feel that Rodrigo is just entering his prime and that he won’t suffer the World Cup hangover that has befallen many a talent before him. For what it’s worth, his goal haul this season isn’t really a fluke — his expected goals (13) are just a shade off what he’s actually scored. But almost all of his strikes have come from inside the box and he is a very different forward from the one he would replace.

Transfer talk of this nature is only expected to heat up with no title race to talk about and less than 60 days until the World Cup, so stay tuned. In the meantime, have your say below.