Arsenal and Spurs keep tabs on contract talks of Spain forward
Published:Radamel Falcao may take all the plaudits for Atletico Madrid, and perhaps rightly so, but Adrian Lopez is another worthy of some praise and he is being monitored by Arsenal and Tottenham.
Adrian’s contract at the Vicente Calderon does not expire until 2015, but Atletico are keen to tie down one of their prized assets to a new deal.
This may in part be down to Adrian having a minimum release clause present of £14.4m, which may be a small enough sum to tempt the north London duo into making an offer either in January or next summer.
Adrian has made great strides since signing from Deportivo on a free transfer last summer, scoring 11 goals last season to help Atletico to Europa League glory.
His impressive form also resulted in a call up to the Spanish senior team and he marked his debut with a goal in a 2-0 friendly triumph over Serbia, while winning the penalty for the second.
Arsenal would arguably have the most to gain from signing Adrian, as he could fit in seamlessly on the left side of their attacking three, which would additionally allow Lukas Podolski to play more centrally.
Furthermore, he could forge a dream attacking partnership with fellow Spaniard Santi Cazorla, pulling the strings for both Podolski and Olivier Giroud
However, Adrian’s immediate future does lie with Atletico Madrid as they look to win the Europa League for the third time in four seasons, while also battling for a Champions League spot through finishing in the top four in La Liga.
Atletico are the early favourites to lift the Europa League again at 10/1, marginally ahead of Liverpool, Tottenham and Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, in the La Liga betting market without Barcelona or Real Madrid, Atletico are 2/1 to finish top dogs, which is the same price as Valencia.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
