Arsenal on red alert as Atletico Madrid target defender

Atletico Madrid want to sign Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin, write the Daily Telegraph.

Diego Simeone is on the lookout for a new right-back following Juanfran's exit at the end of last season.

And the Atletico boss has made Bellerin, who is valued at £50m by his current employers, his leading target.

Arsenal are keen to keep hold of the Spaniard, but Atletico plan to send Vitolo in the opposite direction in an attempt to convince the Premier League club to sell.

Vitolo excelled under Unai Emery at Sevilla and would welcome the prospect of linking up with his former manager at the Emirates Stadium.

However, it remains to be seen whether the potential inclusion of the winger in any deal would be enough to persuade Arsenal to let Bellerin go.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).