Atletico Madrid could sign Tottenham’s Etienne Capoue instead of Ever Banega, with Joshua Guilavogui heading back to France.
St Etienne are said to be Guilavogui’s destination, according to AS. Guilavogui left the French club last summer to move to Atleti but has struggled to fit in to Diego Simeone’s methods and is the club’s fifth-choice midfielder despite costing around €10m.
Capoue reportedly wanted to move to Vicente Calderon last summer when he left Toulouse for Spurs but the money offered by the Premier League club meant Atleti couldn’t compete.
But Capoue has not had a happy time at White Hart Lane, proving unable to nail down a regular place in the side either under Andre Villas-Boas, who was sacked in December, or his successor Tim Sherwood.
Banega is also a possibility, however, and played on loan for Atletico in the 2008-09 season.
The Guilavogui situation is complicated by FIFA regulations, which prevent a player appearing for three clubs in a single season, and the 23-year-old lined-up for St Etienne before his move to Spain. That means he can only play for Atletico or St Etienne for the rest of the campaign.
