Arsenal and Manchester City appear to be losing ground in the race for Morten Hjulmand. Portuguese reports now suggest Atletico Madrid have moved beyond simply convincing the player and have officially opened negotiations with Sporting.
Over the past few weeks, Hjulmand’s future has swung from one favourite to another.
Then came Atletico Madrid. And after dismissing claims at first, Portuguese outlet A Bola then reported that the Spanish club had, in fact, agreed personal terms with the player.
Now the story has taken another step.
Atletico finally make Sporting approach
According to A Bola, Atletico Madrid have now made their first concrete approach to Sporting to begin negotiations over Hjulmand’s transfer. That is the stage the deal had been waiting for.
The Spanish club had already reached an agreement with the 27-year-old over a five-year contract. Now, for the first time, club-to-club discussions are officially underway.
From Arsenal and Manchester City’s perspective, that is another worrying development. Until now, both Premier League clubs could still hope Atletico’s progress was limited to conversations with the player.
That is no longer the case, according to the Portuguese newspaper.
Sporting knew everything from the start
A Bola also provide more detail on how the agreement came together. According to the report, Hjulmand’s verbal agreement with Atletico was sealed on Tuesday afternoon.
This happened with a symbolic handshake between his agent, Ivan Marko Benes, and Atletico sporting director Mateu Alemany.
Perhaps more importantly, Sporting were never left in the dark. The newspaper says Atletico deliberately waited before making their move because they wanted to be certain they were not going behind Sporting’s back.
That was possible because Hjulmand himself had been keeping Sporting’s hierarchy informed throughout the process.
As captain, he felt it was his responsibility to update the club on which teams were showing interest. He also wanted to explain how discussions were progressing.
It follows the same approach he took last summer when Juventus showed strong interest before eventually stepping away because of financial constraints.
The aim, according to A Bola, was always to avoid the kind of fractured situation that developed around Viktor Gyökeres’ departure.
Negotiations now focus on the fee
Attention now turns to the transfer fee. And Sporting’s position has not changed.
The gentleman’s agreement reached last summer still allows Hjulmand to leave for between €40m and €50m (£34m-£43m), despite his official €80m (£69m) release clause.
However, with Atletico now formally at the table and Diego Simeone pushing hard for the midfielder, Sporting are expected to try to increase the final package towards €60m (£52m).
Atletico, meanwhile, believe the deal can be completed for around €45m (£39m), including bonuses. That leaves room for negotiation, but not necessarily a huge gap.
Arsenal and Manchester City watching from behind
None of this completely rules Arsenal or Manchester City out. Both clubs have admired Hjulmand for months. But the picture presented in Portugal is a bit worrying. The two Premier League clubs now appear to be watching Atletico make the biggest moves.
There is still time for Arsenal or City to change the direction of the story, though. For the moment, however, Portuguese reporting suggests they are chasing rather than setting the pace.