Ivan Saponjic Edges Closer to Completing £7m Move to Atletico From Benfica
Atletico Madrid are set to sign promising forward Ivan Saponjic from Benfica.
The 21-year-old made his name this summer playing next to Luka Jovic at the U-21 European Championships for Serbia.
The striker was also part of Veljko Paunovic’s Serbia U-20 side that were crowned world champions in New Zealand in 2015.
The former Partizan player could join the Spanish side as early as this week and become the second player to join Los Rojiblancos from the Lisbon based club this summer following their club-record signing of Joao Felix for £113m, Marca reports.
There has been no confirmation of a fee, however the highly-rated player is thought to be worth in the region of £7m.
He will act as a replacement for Nikola Kalinic who is very likely to depart the Spanish capital.
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Saponjic is set to be fourth choice behind Joao Felix, Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa.
The Serbian has been compared to Mario Mandzukic, with strength, aerial ability and prolific finishing being his stand-out qualities.
During his time with Benfica B in Liga Pro, the forward made 68 appearances finding the net 14 times and providing two assists.
Diego Simeone’s side seem to be rebuilding quite well following the departures of a number of key players such as Lucas Hernandez, Rodri and Diego Godin.
The most impressive signing of Los Rojiblancos, however, has to be the arrival of the Portuguese wonderkid Joao Felix.
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The forward has been described as the most exciting Portuguese player since Cristiano Ronaldo.
Felix made his debut for Benfica at the start of 2018/19 season. During the campaign he scored 15 goals and made nine assists in the Primeira Liga as his club won the title.
