armory And of manchester city Hopes of signing Morten Hjulmand have suffered another blow after a dramatic turn around in Portugal, with Atletico Madrid now reportedly reaching a preliminary agreement with the Sporting captain.
The midfielder's future has become one of the most fluid transfer stories of the summer.
Manchester City initially appeared to be in the best position due to Hugo Viana's long-standing relationship with Hjulmand. Arsenal subsequently emerged as one of the strongest Premier League contenders as reports in Portugal revealed that England had become the most likely destination for the midfielder while Italy's interest had waned.
Just last week, the Portuguese newspaper to ball Poured cold water on Spain's reports Atlético Madrid had already reached an agreement with Hjulmand and insisted that there had been no negotiations between the player and Diego Simeone's side.
However, now the same newspaper is reporting something different.
Atletico have now reached an agreement
Report of one Bola's children says Hjulmand has now reached an agreement in principle with Atletico Madrid this summer.
The next step for the Spanish club is to open formal talks with Sporting.
And given that A Bola himself has previously rejected claims that Atlético were the frontrunners in the race, his latest report inevitably holds extra weight. Surely something has changed behind the scenes.
However, the Portuguese newspaper has reiterated that Sporting's situation remains exactly the same.
Despite his official €80m (£69m) release clause, Hjulmand still has an agreement with the club that allows him to leave for between €40m and €50m (£34m-£43m).
Sporting is therefore expected to listen to Atletico's offer if it falls within that range.
Bad news for Arsenal and Manchester City
This could be a blow for Arsenal and Manchester City.
Arsenal have been repeatedly linked with Hjulmand and have recently been described as one of the leading Premier League destinations by A Bola. Moving to North London gave Dane the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream.
Manchester City has also been strongly involvedMainly because Hugo Viana has been looking after the player's file even after he brought him to Sporting.
Of course no club disappeared from the running because of this report. Sporting still needs to reach an agreement with Atletico. But if the latest information is accurate, Arsenal and City are now trying to capture a club that has already agreed to the player.
One thing is clear: if A Bola has reversed his position on Atletico's progress, his new information must be sufficiently reliable. Perhaps this saga is now moving towards the end.
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