Atletico Madrid are chasing Southampton’s midfielder Dušan Tadić while Arsenal have also been linked with the player.

  • 28-year-old has suffered a frustrating season being played out of position
  • He has a £13m release clause in his contract
  • Tadic is under contract until 2020

According to reports from El Desmarque, Arsenal and Manchester City are also in the race to sign 28-year-old, with both Napoli and Roma also interested.

Tadić is struggling this season to find form as manager Claude Puel uses him in a more central role which isn’t a natural position for the Serbian.

Used to being played as a left winger, it’s obvious why he hasn’t quite kicked off this season with only three goals compared to nine scored in 15/16.

His assisting is also in decline with him setting up just eight goals in this campaign compared to 14 last season.

His downturn in form is directly related to him being utilised in unnatural position as he has played roughly the same amount of games in both seasons.

Just recently, Tadić expressed his frustration with Puel, mainly because of being subbed off – he has finished only four out of the 20 matches he’s started.

“I work hard and feel important to the team,” he said, “but then I leave the field. I feel good, but he doesn’t want to give me a chance to play the whole match

“I’m not the one to decide what will be in the future, but I want to see more respect towards me”

Regarding his media outburst, Puel also reacted, and said that he had talked to Tadić about his comments.

“All the players can have disappointment after the game,” Puel said. “I understand this but we sorted it internally.

“He knows it was not a good response. It is always better to give good answers on the pitch.”

The 28-year-old certainly isn’t happy with Puel’s treatment and it is expected that Tadić will leave Southampton at the end of the season, especially if the likes of Arsenal and Atletico Madrid come knocking.

Reports from Italy claim that Dušan Tadić has a £13m release clause in his current contract with Southampton, which doesn’t represent financial problem for the interested parties.

If Arsenal manage to lure the Serbian to the Emirates, they could get a player of first team quality for what seems quite a bargain price compared to other transfer sums these days.