Report: Chelsea 'considering' a few more Atlético signings, like Griezmann and Koke

All this seems like fairly lazy rumor mongering to me — hey, remember how Chelsea bought a couple Atlético players last summer and then sold (well, sort of) one back to them in the winter? — but they're making the rounds fairly consistently, so we might as well talk about them for a minute.

Neither rumor is particularly that surprising or outrageous.  We had been linked with both Koke and Antoine Griezmann before, and the former has already popped back up with summer looming around the corner.  Summer is coming!  That sounds far more dramatic and urgent than it actually is, though we have made it a habit to sew up major signings fairly early in the last few transfer windows.

Koke himself probably doesn't need too much introduction.  He's a tidy enough player to be able to easily compete for a starting spot at any club in the world.  Comfortable just about anywhere in midfield, he's got wonderful vision, smooth skills, and isn't afraid to stick his nose where it may not be most welcome.  He's got a bit of the Simeone in him, which would surely make Mourinho pretty happy.  It's rumored that the 23-year-old has a €60m buyout clause, and if our recent buys from Atlético are any indication, we wouldn't get too much of a discount on that (just enough to avoid the taxes and such).

Griezmann is the newest rumor on the block.  His buyout is remarkably similar to Koke's, but apparently Atlético would like to up that a bit seeing as how the man with the ridiculous hair has scored 25 goals in all competitions this season.  He has been on fire since the New Year, so this could be just about the worst time to buy.  (The time to buy probably was last summer or the summer before.)  Much like Koke, he's a well known quantity.  He is young (24) and left-footed, which could be useful.  He could very well be the latest option for us to try on the right wing, though unlike our recent efforts at fixing that spot, he'd be extremely pricey.

In any case, while neither player is my preferred solution for adding to our midfield or attacking options, they are certainly not bad players to target.