Atletico Madrid back to square one in pursuit of leading defensive target as €26m offer is rejected | OneFootball

Having closed the signing of Robin Le Normand last weekend, Atletico Madrid are now aiming to secure the services of David Hancko – their top target for the left-sided centre-back position, which was vacated by Mario Hermoso earlier in the summer.

Hancko is highly-regarded by Atleti officials, and already, they had launched two offers to sign him. Despite both being rejected by Feyenoord, this did not disheartened Los Colchoneros, who submitted a third proposal at the back-end of last week.

Atleti were confident that it would be accepted, and plans had already been put in place to have Hancko signed by this weekend. However, those plans have fallen flat, as Foot Mercato’s Santi Aouna has reported that Feyenoord have turned down the third bid, which was worth a reported €26m.

It’s back to the drawing board for Atletico Madrid, and sporting director Andrea Berta must now decide whether to continue their interest in Hancko. Alternatives have already been looked at before, now they could be re-visited.