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Chelsea have received a transfer boost concerning Jan Oblak as Atletico Madrid close in on a deal to sign Eiber goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
But Chelsea could be rebuffed as Atletico could see Dmitrovic as an understudy to Oblak.
According to Goal, Atletico’s current second choice Antonio Adan is nearing his exit for Sporting and Diego Simeone wants Dmitrovic to be brought in.
However, Atletico Madrid could be put off by the £18million release clause in his Eibar contract – a large sum for a back-up keeper.
But with just one year remaining on his current deal, there may be scope to land the 28-year-old for below that figure.
Olympiakos’s Jose Sa or Granada’s Rui Silva are alternative options for Atleti should they be unable to sign Dmitrovic.
Oblak has emerged as arguably the best goalkeeper in the world during his six years at Atletico.
And that it why a number of clubs continue to be linked with making a swoop for the Slovenian, 27.
Chelsea are thought to be the most interested as Frank Lampard tries to work out how to resolve his defensive woes.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, the world’s most expensive stopper, struggled for form this season and was regularly dropped in favour of veteran Willy Caballero
And according to SunSport, Manchester United also joined the race but in Dean Henderson, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer already has a long-term successor to David De Gea.
The major sticking point for any club hoping to sign Oblak would be his release clause, estimated to be around £109m
With Chelsea already spending more than £84m this summer to sign Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner – plus wanting new defenders – it seems unlikely they would be able to shell out another whopping fee for Oblak.
