Atletico Madrid spent big during the 2024 summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Julian Alvarez, Conor Gallagher, Alexander Sorloth and Robin Le Normand. That has left very little money in the bank at the moment, although that hasn’t stopped the club’s sporting department from working on targets for next summer.
Already, Atleti have earmarked their leading transfer target for 2025: Alex Baena. According to MD, the Villarreal playmaker is the player that Los Colchoneros are desperate to sign before the start of next season.
Baena has been in incredible form over the last 12 months. In 2024 alone, he has managed to rack up 14 assists in La Liga, which is way more than anyone else in the same period.
Villarreal consider Baena to be an indispensable player, and sales over the last few years means that they will not be pressured to cash in next summer. Because of this, it’s likely that Atletico Madrid would need to trigger his €60m release clause in order for a deal to be done.
