Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal to sign Espanyol defender Mario Hermoso with confirmation expected soon, report Marca.
Cadena Cope follow up on the reports and claim Atleti will pay an initial €30m for the defender with a further €5m in add-ons, despite the Catalan club having a €40m release clause in the contract.
It follows a report last month in Marca claiming ‘negotiations are advanced’ for the central defender who is set to follow Felipe Monteiro to Atleti, another defender who joined from FC Porto in a €20m deal.
It had initially been claimed that Espanyol were reluctant to sell for below the player’s release clause but the central defender’s insistence on wanting a move looks to have forced them into an agreement.
Hermoso only joined the Catalan club in 2017 from Real Madrid in a €400k deal while he has a contract until 2020 with a €40m release clause in place.
Madrid possess a €15m buyback clause while they also are said to still own 50% of his rights, meaning they can sign him for half that price, but it does not appear they will continue their pursuit.
Hermoso has won two caps for the Spain national team within the last year while he impressed for Espanyol across 35 first-team appearances this campaign.
Bayern Munich and Arsenal are the other two clubs who have been directly mentioned in relation to the Madrid-native, with both said to be seeking defensive reinforcements.
Hermoso previously spent a season on loan at Real Valladolid in La Liga 123.
