Atletico Madrid outcast has Premier League admirers, claims agent

The agent of Nicolas Gaitan has confirmed his client will leave Atletico Madrid in January and revealed there are Premier League clubs interested in his signature. 

Gaitan has failed to live up to his £19.7m price tag since joining Atletico from Benfica in June 2016 and has no future under Diego Simeone. 

The Argentina international has only started one league game this season and his agent, Jose Iribarren, has confirmed his time at Atletico has come to an end. 

“I can tell you English clubs are interested,” he told Foot Mercato. “Yes, he’ll undoubtedly leave Atletico in January. He has a lot of concrete offers. Nicolas was an important player when he played in Argentina, at Benfica, and with the national team. 

“He can’t continue in these conditions. If he can’t play a string of matches, nor win the coach’s trust… A player wants to play. We’re going to see with Atletico which solutions we can find.

“We hope to find a club where the player will be happy and will play regular, Nicolas isn’t a player who’s happy to play 15 minutes per match. He wants to play every game. 

“But there is no rancour towards Atletico Madrid. The club weren’t able to give him a lot of playing time and make him feel important. Nicolas needs to feel important to play to his best. Each player works differently. 

“Atletico have gotten good results recently, but they don’t play a style of football that suits Nicolas. The best solution is a change of scenery. We need a team that needs a player of Nicolas’ profile. 

“He could leave on loan or in a permanent transfer. That decision belongs to Atletico. We have a lot of respect for Atletico and their president. We have to find a solution that suits both the player and Atletico. W want to do that with the utmost respect.”

Atletico have only lost one game that Gaitan has started in the league (83.3% win rate) compared to a win rate of 54.8% when he hasn’t featured from the off.