Atletico Madrid’s manager, Diego Simeone, has met with Paulo Dybala to sound him out about a move to La Liga to replace Antoine Griezmann who is expected to leave this summer for Barcelona.

According to a report Mundo Deportivo picked up from Radio Marca, the meeting between Simeone, the player, his representative and brother, lasted an hour while they ate at Los Arroces de Segis, a restaurant in Madrid.

Leaving aside the clear tapping up issues, Dybala is said to have been dreaming of playing in La Liga for a number of years and Atletico Madrid need to know if Juventus will sell the player they signed from Palermo for £36m for under €100m – the amount they expect to get for Griezmann.

mundo deportivo 21 march 2018 dybala
Mundo Deportivo 21 March 2018

This summer certainly looks like it will be a busy one across Europe.

Mundo Deportivo report that Manchester United have already tabled an offer for Dybala but he is said to prefer a move to Spain.

Dybala’s reps have reportedly spoken to Real Madrid as well. They are deciding between a move for the Juve man or Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.

The future of Simeone is also playing a role with it not clear that he will remain at Atletico.

Luciano Spalleti’s job at Inter is said to be on the line should he fail to deliver Champions League football and Simeone is their preferred option to replace him. Inter are currently fourth in Serie A in a Champions League spot, one point ahead of Lazio. Chelsea are also interested in hiring Simeone to replace Antonio Conte, both of whom have been mentioned as possible candidates for the Arsenal job should it open up this summer.

Griezmann and Dybala have also been linked with Arsenal, often heavily, and that’s part of the reason I wanted to cover this now. Both players could well be on the move this summer and that means they will no doubt be linked with Arsenal once again. If I were you, I wouldn’t pay those rumours, when they surface, much attention at all.

That being said, it is going to be a massive game of dominoes this summer – for both players and managers. One move is likely to set off a chain reaction and if the rumblings at Arsenal are anything more than just smoke to confuse fans, we will be right in the middle of the madness.