Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has not rebuffed claims the club are in talks with Chelsea to sign exiled left-back Marcos Alonso amid rumours he will be allowed to leave in January.
The 30-year-old’s time at Stamford Bridge appears to be coming to an end after he was frozen out by Frank Lampard, having not even made a Premier League matchday squad since the end of September.
He was hauled off at half-time of the side’s 3-3 draw with West Brom, when the Blues were three goals down at the time, and is rumoured to have fallen out with his manager when he refused to watch the rest of the game.
Not only have Chelsea signed Ben Chilwell as their first-choice left-back, but Emerson Palmieri has also moved above Alonso in the pecking order.
According to The Independent, Chelsea are happy to let the Spaniard leave when the window reopens and have held discussions over a loan move with Atletico.
Simeone is in the market for a new left-sided player, having often used a three at the back formation with wing-backs which would suit Alonso well, though he was tight-lipped when asked about the speculation on Tuesday.
‘We have a rival who always competes very well, they have not had positive results but they have improved and competed to the maximum in the games they’ve played.’
Lampard is happy to offload Alonso – who has a contract until 2023 with Chelsea – with the Blues boss having been enraged when the defender opted not to join his teammates in the stands after his withdrawal at half-time against West Brom, instead getting on the team bus.
Alonso seems to have little intention of building bridges, ‘liking’ an Instagram post detailing the side’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Boxing Day.
Although Alonso has no future at Chelsea, the club still believe they can get around £20million for a player who has netted 19 goals in 116 Premier League appearances during his four-and-a-half years in west London.
