Several reports in Spain have claimed that Paris Saint-Germain have offered Argentinian winger Ezequiel Lavezzi to Atlético Madrid, presumably in an attempt to raise the funds necessary to lure his compatriot Ángel di Maria in the other direction, from city rivals Real. With a host of attacking talents already at the club and Financial Fair Play keeping a watchful eye over the French champions, PSG need to trim down their squad and their wage bill if they hope to strike a deal for the unwanted Madrid man. Atlético's recent capture of fellow left winger Antoine Griezmann is unlikely to complicate matters, with Diego Simeone allegedly a big fan of the 29-year-old.
According to Spanish paper AS, Atleti's CEO Miguel Angel Gil stopped in France on a trip to China on Monday and met with senior PSG figures to discuss a possible deal for the 29-year-old, though his hefty wages could prove a stumbling block for the La Liga champions. With PSG keen to get the two deals wrapped up as soon as possible, though, any potential transfer fee is likely to be fairly reasonable by footballing standards with Liverpool having reportedly submitted a bid below the £20million having scrapped their attempts to sign Loïc Rémy from QPR.
If the transfer does go through, Lavezzi could form part of a potent attack next season for Los Rojiblancos despite an injury-hit campaign last year in which he scored 12 goals. Griezmann and Diego Costa replacement Mario Mandžukić could link up well, and with pace and trickery on both wings and a powerful centre forward in between, Atleti may not struggle as much as previously feared following an exodus of many of their key players from last season.
Meanwhile, the same paper are also reporting that the di Maria transfer saga is almost complete, but the nature of any deal is not yet clear - having already spent £50million on David Luiz and this fee likely to top the £60million mark, it has been suggested that the wrath of FFP could be avoided by bringing the midfielder in on loan before making the transfer permanent next summer. Either way, none of the clubs involved in this mini transfer merry-go-round should find goals hard to come by in the coming season.