Arsenal are reportedly showing interest in Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who has a release clause of €100m in his contract.
According to Goal, Arsenal are showing interest in in-form Atletico Madrid custodian Jan Oblak. The goalkeeper has firmly established himself as one of the best keepers in Europe and is now on the radar of Arsene Wenger, who seems to be seeking a long-term solution to ultimately replace the ageing Petr Cech.
Jan Oblak joined Atletico Madrid from Benfica before the start of the 2014-15 season in a deal that made him the most expensive keeper in the history of La Liga. The Slovenian was slowly eased into the first-team setup by Diego Simeone in his debut season, and in the custodian’s second season at the Vicente Calderon, Oblak became an undisputed starter in La Liga and the Champions League.
Oblak started all of the league matches for the Rojiblancos in the 2015-16 campaign and has started all of Atletico Madrid’s games thus far this season. The 23-year-old has received rave reviews from experts and fans all around the world.
Oblak was the talk of the town once again over the weekend as he saved an early penalty in a 3-0 win over Osasuna. Even Diego Simeone added words of appreciation for the keeper in the aftermath of the 3-0 win.
“Osasuna began very strong, and then came the decisive penalty save from Oblak. That is three big saves from him in just a few months. I am very happy for him personally,” Simeone was quoted as saying.
Arsene Wenger is reportedly a bid admirer of Oblak’s abilities and has made an approach to Atletico Madrid for the 23-year-old on a number of occasions. All of his approaches have been rejected without hesitation by Simeone and his club, who are unwilling to listen to any offers for the player.
Wenger is likely to go back in for the keeper, but Atletico Madrid’s unwillingness to negotiate a deal means that the Frenchman is only likely to get his man if he pays his release clause, which currently stands at €100m.
It has been reported that Jan Oblak will evaluate his options at the end of the season, but given the amount of admiration and love he has been shown at the Vicente Calderon, he is likely to stay at the club for the foreseeable future.
It would be interesting too see how the Oblak story develops and whether Atletico Madrid change their current stance on their No.1. The Rojiblancos have had a glorious recent history with keepers and it looks like Jan Oblak is set to continue that trend.
