The Juventus squad is being thinned out with midfielder Arthur Melo back in his native Brazil with Gremio for a season-long loan, and the imminent departure of defender Nicolo Savona to Nottingham Forest.
Nicolas Gonzalez has been surplus to requirements despite signing for the Bianconeri on 1 July, following his loan from Fiorentina. Juve have been open to offers ever since he joined, so swiftly slapped an asking price of €30 million (US$35m) on the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner.
A plethora of clubs have shown interest during the summer transfer window. This includes AC Milan, Leeds United and Villarreal, despite Gonzalez hardly being involved in Juve’s Club World Cup campaign.
His steep annual salary demands of €3.7m (US$4.3m) have proved a barrier, especially for Serie A sides who were contemplating a loan but are expected to pay Gonzalez’s wages in full.
Attacking winger Gonzalez, who has rejected approaches from the Saudi Pro League and Turkish Super Lig, is back on Atletico Madrid’s radar after the Spanish giants dropped five points in their opening La Liga games.
Samuel Lino and Riquelme have left Athletico, with Angel Correa requiring a top-notch partner. Gonzalez fits the bill, with Atletico manager Diego Simeone having had his eye on the 27-year-old for sometime.
Gonzalez's playing style and traits
Gonzalez’s ability to dribble past opponents to both set up and score goals is part of his trademark play, which could light up the Spanish top tier.
Although Gonzalez is a creative and versatile player who provides pace for quickly initiate counterattacks, he has surprisingly slipped out of favor at Juve because of Igor Tudor’s one-dimensional tactical approach.
Reports in the Spanish sports media indicate that there have been initial conversations between Juventus and Atletico, with negotiations only likely to progress if the Spanish team can offload a player before the 1 September deadline.
There are inquiries for midfielder Conor Gallagher in the Premier League, with Tottenham Hotspur leading the chase, while Juve are keen to land Argentina full-back Nahuel Molina although a part swap deal is no longer on the cards.
Atletico get cheeky with half-price bid
The other sticking point is that Atletico have made a paltry bid of just €15m (US$17.5m) for Gonzalez, which is a brazen offer because they are aware that Juventus are cash-strapped.
Gonzalez will want regular playing time, and appears unlikely to achieve that under Tudor unless there are a spate of injuries at the Turin titans, in order to be selected to tackle next year’s World Cup finals.
The prospect of being coached by compatriot Simeone and competing for silverware is surely far more appealing to Gonzalez than being a bit-part player at Juventus.
Yet there remain a handful of stumbling blocks to overcome to make Gonzalez’s switch to Spain become a reality.