Atletico Madrid Join Race to Sign Santiago Arias as Replacement for Departing Sime Vrsaljko

Atletico Madrid are reportedly set to hijack Napoli's attempt to sign Santiago Arias from PSV Eindhoven.The Spaniards will be in the market for a new full back

Atletico Madrid are reportedly set to hijack Napoli's attempt to sign Santiago Arias from PSV Eindhoven.

The Spaniards will be in the market for a new full back with Sime Vrsaljko move to Internazionale edging ever closer, and Diego Simeone looks to have found his preferred replacement in Arias.

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The 26-year-old, currently playing his football in the Eredivise, played in all four of Colombia's World Cup games this summer and was a stand out performer in the squad, with interest in the defender after the tournament rising dramatically.

It had previously been reported that Napoli have been watching Arias for a while, however according to Sky Sports reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, Atletico are now set to hijack their attempts to sign the Colombian with Simeone's need for a new full back now becoming apparent.

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In his five seasons with PSV, Arias has won three Eredivise titles and was named as the Eredivise Player of the Year for the 2017/18 season on top of winning two Johan Cruijff Shields.

Simeone would certainly rely on Arias to bring his winning mentality to his Atletico Madrid side who haven't won a piece of domestic silverware since their La Liga triumph in 2014. They continue to try and close the gap between themselves and La Liga's top two clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona who have dominated Spanish football for decades.

Atletico face their city rivals Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final in just over two weeks time before they get their league campaign underway with a tough trip to Valencia just five days later.