Atletico Madrid are close to signing Moussa Dembele from Lyon, Diego Simeone has confirmed.
The striker is expected to move to the Wanda Metropolitano on a loan deal with an option to buy, having told Lyon he wanted a new challenge.
The agreement has not yet been finalised but Simeone seems confident the move will be completed sooner rather than later.
"It's still not confirmed, but it's very advanced," the Atletico coach told reporters ahead of Tuesday's match with Sevilla.
"I'm going to turn my head towards the game, which is what interests me, and when there's something [on Dembele], if there is something, I'll give an opinion."
Atleti will reportedly be able to secure Dembele for a €35million fee should he impress on loan before the end of the season.
The former France Under-21 international has scored just once in 16 Ligue 1 games this season, having hit 24 in 46 across all competitions in 2019-20.
Simeone's more pressing concern is Tuesday's match with Julen Lopetegui's side, which comes after Atleti's previous game with Athletic Bilbao was called off.
The match, which was due to take place in Madrid on Saturday, was postponed after Storm Filomena brought significant snowfall to the Spanish capital.
Training was severely disrupted over the weekend and Atleti will hold an extra session before facing Sevilla to make sure they are fully prepared.
"With the difficulties we've had, everyone has been at home," Simeone said. "We had no option of getting together or leaving the house. We worked at home on Saturday; on Sunday, a group was able to train together.
"There are no excuses. They're circumstances to which we have to adapt. The most important thing will be tomorrow and what happened before will not matter in terms of the criticism and opinions we receive.
"There'll be two training sessions because tomorrow we'll have another one at midday to finish fine-tuning what we have to do, making the most of the fact the game is in the evening.
"[The pitch] is very good. It looks really good, with a normal condition to be able to compete and I'm sure there won't be any difficulty with the surface."
Simeone also confirmed Kieran Trippier "is really good, he's really excited to play, focused as ever" after being cleared to play.
The full-back was hit with a 10-game ban by the Football Association due to breaches of betting regulations, but he is allowed to feature again in LaLiga after FIFA put his punishment on hold amid an appeal from Atletico.
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
