Atletico Madrid have no intention of selling Mario Suarez, according to club president Enrique Cerezo.
Arsenal have been linked with a move for the defensive midfielder in recent weeks, and despite signing 17-year-old Krystian Bielik from Legia Warsaw, Arsene Wenger sees the young Pole as a player for the future and is believed to be in the market to bring in a more experienced option in the middle before the transfer window shuts.
However, Cerezo has reiterated Atletico’s stance on Suarez and want him to remain at the Vicente Calderon after rejecting a reported £7 million bid from Inter Milan.
Quoted in the Daily Express, the club president said:
‘As far as I know Mario Suarez will be staying. He is an important player for us.
‘I don’t think we’ll be operating sales because the coach (Diego Simeone) relies on all of the available players until the end of the season.
‘That’s why I’m saying that we’re not taking into consideration the idea of dropping someone.’
So with Suarez out of the picture, who should Wenger look to recruit?
Perhaps the Frenchman may not even need to sign a defensive midfielder after Francis Coquelin’s recent performances for us. And although I would like to see him sign a new holding midfielder, I highly doubt he will – a centre-back is the more pressing matter now.
