Rayo Vallecano’s exciting Brazilian talent Leo Baptistao is reportedly just a step away from agreeing a transfer to Atletico Madrid.
The youngster has recovered from injury troubles that hampered him last season to emerge as one of the Spanish League’s most interesting attacking prospects.
So far for Rayo this season, the 20-year-old has scored six times and provided four assists in 13 League appearances.
The attacking midfielder, who can also play in the final line of attack, has been identified by Atletico’s director of football Jose Luis Caminero as a transfer target, say AS today.
Contact between the clubs and with the player has reportedly existed for a while and talks are said to be so advanced that an agreement between all parties for his transfer is believed to be very close.
Leo is represented by Manolo Rangel, who has strong connections with the youth set-up at Atleti and is believed to be agreeing in principle the transfer of his client to the Calderon for the summer of 2013.
The player is seen as unlikely to make the move in January and will reportedly cost Atleti just half of his €8m buyout clause in June. Speculation is that the two capital clubs could even transfer players to Vallecas to further reduce the transfer fee due for Leo.