Atletico Madrid Sporting Director confirms interest in Brazilian midfielder

Atletico Madrid Sporting Director Mateu Alemany has confirmed that they are interested in signing Atalanta midfielder Ederson dos Santos in the summer. They have been linked with the Brazilian for the past two years, but reportedly negotiated for him with the Serie A side in the January transfer window.

Ederson did not leave Atalanta in January, despite Atletico being willing to offer around €35-40m with just 18 months remaining on his deal. As it was, Atletico spent around €25m on Rodrigo Mendoza and Obed Vargas, both central midfielders. “One more on the list of good players we have,” Alemany told Movistar+ as quoted by Marca before their Champions League tie with Club Brugge. Recently it has been reported that Atletico will reopen talks for Ederson next month.

Alemany on January transfer business

Overall, it was a chaotic January for Los Rojiblancos, who saw four players leave, and brought in three on transfer deadline day. Alemany was not willing to evaluate their window, or whether they would have preferred to do more business.

“At the end of the season, we’ll assess what’s been done. The departures, the arrivals… we’ll evaluate the four departures and the three arrivals.”

‘There’s no specific reason for our La Liga form’ – Alemany

Before the match, a major topic has been Atletico’s up and down form over recent weeks, after comfortable wins agains Real Betis and Barcelona were sandwiched between significant defeats to Betis and Rayo Vallecano. Simeone commented before the match that he could not ask for any more from his players, and Alemany said there was no specific cause they were so far off the pace in La Liga.

“These are different tournaments. Things just turn out this way. There’s no specific reason for our league position. The team always wants it. These tournaments demand maximum concentration because if you slip up, you’re out. That’s where we reach our best form.”

The following will be suspended for the UCL return leg if they get a yellow card tonight:

– Diego Simeone
– Robin Le Normand
– Clément Lenglet
– Thiago Almada
– Giuliano Simeone

Pablo Barrios is also one yellow card away, but he is unavailable.

[via @mundodeportivo] pic.twitter.com/inlOoyYfUZ

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 18, 2026

“We always go out to win and give it our all. We also have a lot at stake in the league, and it’s a huge demand to be at the top. We have to push ourselves, and we do so at our best in every competition.”

The suspicion in Madrid is that Atletico have decided to prioritise the Copa del Rey and Champions League. They are highly likely to finish in the top four in La Liga, while progress in Europe comes with significant financial rewards, and they are one step away from the Copa final against Real Sociedad or Athletic Club.

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