KEY POINTS
- Atletico Madrid may be a plausible next stop for Moussa Dembele
- Dembele is not interested in joining the Hammers
- Lyons target Islam Slimani to replace Dembele
There is a lot to expect this January transfer window with several players likely to change jerseys.
One of them is likely to be Moussa Dembele who is currently out as he recovers from a broken arm he suffered during training.
Beyond that, the 24-year-old has been struggling at the Groupama Stadium. He only scored once in 16 appearances so far.
Expectations were high considering the French striker is coming off a good 2019-20 season. He hit 24 goals across all competitions.
Despite his erratic run, several clubs are interested in getting Dembele. West Ham and Atletico Madrid are two teams linked to the Lyon player, but it appears he is not interested in being a Hammer, Goal reported.
West Ham United is close to selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax, and David Moyes is now looking at potential replacements.
Dembele is one target, but the Hammers may have to check out options with the Frenchman allegedly against the move.
This could allow Atletico Madrid to swoop in and make a pitch to Lyon for Dembele. They too are on the prowl for a striker and have already opened talks with the French club.
The striker vacancy cropped up after Los Indios cut ties with Diego Costa early. The 32-year-old still had six months remaining in his contract.
Costa has yet to find a new team and is training in Brazil.
Atleti plans to pitch a loan deal for Dembele with an option to buy in the summer. The transfer would be worth $43 million which would include bonuses. As of this writing, no agreement has been reached.
If a deal for Dembele is reached, Lyon will be looking to replace the French striker next. A player on their radar is Islam Slimani of Leicester.
The Algerian football player has six months left in his current contract, but his future is not looking so bright at the King Power Stadium.
Slimani has only appeared once for the Foxes this season and spent most of the last seasons on loan.
His last stint was in Ligue 1 with Monaco where he was performing well. The 32-year-old tallied nine goals and seven assists in 18 appearances before the pandemic shut down the season.
Further, Slimani was already advised by Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers to consider moving to another club where he could enjoy the game more.
Moussa Dembele is not interested in joining West Ham but things could be different with Atletico Madrid. Photo: Moussa Dembele of France
