Marseille drop out of the race to sign Atletico Madrid defender

On Friday, the Atletico Madrid first team squad returned to the club for the start of pre-season training. Among those in attendance was Renan Lodi, although the Brazilian is unlikely to remain in the Spanish capital this summer.

Following the arrival of Javi Galan earlier this week, Lodi is now third-choice left-back at Atletico. He was out of favour under Diego Simeone anyway, which prompted his loan move to Nottingham Forest last season.

Forest are keen on signing Lodi on a permanent basis, as are several other clubs across Europe. Marseille had been one of them, although Diario AS have now reported that they have abandoned their pursuit of his signature. They feel that Atletico’s asking price, believed to be €15-20m, is too high, so they have taken the decision to drop out of the race.

Atletico Madrid expect Lodi to move on this summer, and they will hope to conclude a deal over the next few weeks, so that the funds can be re-invested back into the transfer market.