Atletico Madrid will loan out Luciano Vietto this summer with Benfica and Southampton potential destinations.
With Atletico Madrid willing to loan out Luciano Vietto this summer, its little surprise that there’s plenty of interest.
Thought the Argentine forward netted only once in 19 La Liga appearances during his debut campaign at the Vicente Calderon in 2015/16, and failed to impress during a temporary spell at Sevilla last season, the 23-year-old remains one of South America’s most promising young forwards.
Luciano Vietto has endured a lean couple of years
As such Sky Sports claim that Southampton are in talks with Atletico about securing Vietto for next season. The Saints need attacking reinforcements after letting Jay Rodriguez leave for West Brom and new manager Manuel Pellegrino will know Vietto well from his time in La Liga.
However, Gianluca Di Marzio reports that the South Coast club will have competition from Portuguese giants Benfica. The 2017 Primera Liga champions may be a more tempting destination for both Vietto and Atletico due to the fact that they can offer him exposure to Champions League football next season.
Furthermore, Atletico and Benfica have worked together in recent years in a number of transfer deals, Nico Gaitina swapping Portugal for Spain last summer and Jan Oblak making an identical move a year earlier.
Therefore, Southampton may have their work cut out landing Vietto, who joined Atletico in a big-money deal in 2014 after plundering 20 goals in all competitions for Villarreal the season before.
After all, it’s far easier for a Spanish based player to adapt to Portuguese football than deal with the rigours of the Premier League.
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