Atletico Madrid are preparing a bid for Hakan Calhanoglu.
According to a report on talkSPORT the Spanish side are set to steal a march on Manchester United and Chelsea by putting in a bid for the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder.
Leverkusen have a £32.25m buy out clause in Calhanoglu’s contract but that is unlikely to be tested at the moment with the player ruled out of action due to a FIFA ban.
The 23-year-old is under contract until until 2019 but it’s believed that Leverkusen could be prepared to do business, especially if interest from England drives the price up.
Despite Leverkusen’s regular place in the middle of the Bundesliga, Calhanoglu has attracted attention from a number of clubs interested in his trade mark free-kicks.
Both United and Chelsea are looking to unearth creative midfielders with the 23-year-old with four years of Bundesliga fitting the bill in terms of ability and budget.