Atletico Madrid are reportedly closing in on a surprise deal to sign James Rodriguez from city rivals Real Madrid.
The 28-year-old has spent the past two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich and has been been told by Zinedine Zidane that he is not in the club's plans for the forthcoming campaign at the Bernabeu.
Rodriguez was thought to be on the verge of joining former Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli, but those talks have stalled and the Colombia international has reportedly begun to go off the idea of a move to Naples.
Marca claims that Rodriguez would ideally stay in the Spanish capital and would be open to joining Atletico, who are still in the market for attacking reinforcements following the exit of Antoine Griezmann.
The only obstacle for the deal is the cross-town rivalry between the two clubs, although Real's desire to cash in on a valuable asset could be enough for them do business with their neighbours.
Atletico have already signed Marcos Llorente from Real in what has been a summer of big spending for the La Liga runners-up, also bringing in Joao Felix, Felipe and Renan Lodi during a £175m spree.
Barney Corkhill
