Atletico Madrid face a scenario where they must sell Saúl Ñiguez if they want to sign a striker this summer.
Diego Simeone is said to be keen to add a frontman to his squad following the return of loan forward Moussa Dembélé to Lyon and the fact Luis Suarez is not getting any younger.
But according to Diario AS, Atleti are at the very edge of their wage limit after snapping up Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese.
As we have seen with Barcelona, clubs over their La Liga wage cap can only invest 25% of any incomings and they are unable to register new players unless sufficient money is brought in first.
The cap is set differently for each club based on revenues, and the majority of clubs have seen their cap reduced this season due to decreasing revenues on the back of the pandemic.
And in the case of Atleti, they are now towards the very limit of their salary cap, meaning they cannot sign a new striker until there is a significant outgoing.
It’s expected Saúl could be the man who makes way, the Spain international on a long-term contract which makes him one of the highest earners at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The midfielder has been linked with a swap deal with Antoine Griezmann, but Atleti are unlikely to fit the bill for the Frenchman’s huge wages.
Saúl is also attracting interest from the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, and it seems a move for the midfielder is not only preferred but necessary for Atleti as they look to add that much-needed depth in the front line ahead of their La Liga title defence.
More must-reads: