Atletico Madrid have thrown in the towel in their pursuit of Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso after baulking at the hefty asking price, according to Cadena COPE.
Alonso has been tentatively linked with the exit door in recent weeks, having lost his place in the starting eleven to Emerson Palmieri at the tale end of last season.
With Atletico stalwart and former Blue Filipe Luis heading out the Wanda Metropolitano exit door following the expiration of his contract, a replacement will be needed.
Goal reported earlier this month that Diego Simeone had identified Alonso as the perfect successor for the Brazilian, but it now looks unlikely the move will materialise.
Cadena COPE’s belief is that Atletico have been put off their pursuit of Alonso by Chelsea’s €40M asking price, leaving it looking unlikely that Alonso will be going anywhere.
If Alonso was disgruntled about his lack of first-team action, a return to Madrid will no doubt have been an attractive possibility for him to consider.
However, if Atletico aren’t prepared to cough up the cash, and the asking price is perfectly reasonable, then he may have no choice but to stick it out and fight for his place.
