Napoli set high price for Atletico Madrid transfer targets

Atletico Madrid have been that annoying gnat that keeps buzzing around your head while you're trying to work. You try to swat at it, it goes away for a bit, then it comes back to buzz around some more. That's been the case with them for a year now in their efforts to land Jose Callejon, and now they've got another Napoli player that they're zipping around for: Faouzi Ghoulam.

The Algerian left back is perhaps an odd fit for Atletico on the surface since they have the very talented Guilherme Siqueira already patrolling the left flank at the Vicente Calderon, but they ran into some pretty notable depth issues when Siqueira wasn't around at times last season. With La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey all to contend with, Atleti need a second talented fullback on the left, especially with how much Diego Simeone demands from his wide defenders.

So from that perspective, it makes sense that Atleti would want someone of Ghoulam's skill level. He can help them maintain quality throughout the season this season, then potentially replace and improve over Siqueira in the next couple of years.

Napoli are not exactly amused with Atleti's efforts, but are perhaps willing to part with both Ghoulam and Callejon -- if Atletico pony up. According to reports in both Italy and Spain, Napoli supposedly have set a €30 million asking price for the pair, building off the €15 million price tags that have come up for each player in Atleti's efforts to sign Callejon and other big clubs' rebuffed tries at Ghoulam.

It would be a steep price for Atletico to pay, but they have the resources to meet that if they decide they want both players. They would be hard losses for Napoli, but not ones that can't be overcome, especially with that much cash at their disposal.