Transfer trickle-down effect: Atletico Madrid to pursue Matthijs de Ligt if Bayern signs Lucas Hernandez

Per a report from Marca, Atletico Madrid is seemingly resigned to the fact that it will lose Lucas Hernandez to Bayern Munich and is already plotting where it will spend the revenue generated from a sale of the defender.

The target? Ajax center-back prodigy Matthijs de Ligt, who has also been regularly linked with Bayern:

Matthijs de Ligt is part of the newly triumphant Ajax team that conquered the Santiago Bernabéu a few hours ago. Few clubs other than the Dutch know better what it means to develop spectacular generations that then fly (every time at an increasingly faster pace) to more competitive football elsewhere.

That’s where Atlético comes in, one of the teams that has joined the bidding for the young center-back. Only 19 years old, De Ligt is on the agenda of some of the giants of the Old Continent. One of them is Barça (which has already signed the other great talent on the team, De Jong), but not the only one. Hence the difficulty faced by the company that will try to attack the team that is trained by Diego Pablo Simeone (Atletico Madrid).

Since 33-year-old Diego Godin is reportedly headed to Inter Milan this summer, and Bayern is in hot pursuit of Hernandez, Atletico Madrid will be looking to shore up its back line with a young star. Marca continues,

The departure of a legend like Diego Godín, who indicates that he will play at Inter Milan, will not be the only actor in the central plot. Lucas Hernandez will fly to Bayern, and Atleti is already working to cover the departure of two of its four center-backs (Jose Giménez and Stefan Savic complete the roster). The 80 million that the German colossus must pay for Hernandez can serve to convince Ajax to sell (De Ligt), who is their captain despite being only 19 years old. Something that is valued at Atlético to make the effort for a footballer who already knows what it is to compete at the highest level and endure the pressure of the top flight of continental football.

Atletico could face a challenge from FC Barcelona, Bayern itself, or even Juventus for De Ligt, but should Bayern procure Hernandez, it could be assumed that the Bundesliga power would drop out of the sweepstakes for the Dutch starlet.