Atletico Madrid have announced the arrival of Espanyol centre-back Mario Hermoso on a five-year deal running until the summer of 2024.
Diego Simeone’s side have reportedly agreed an initial €30m (£27.1m) fee with Espanyol plus a further €5m (£4.5m) in performance related add-ons.
Hermoso had a €40m (£36m) release clause in his Espanyol contract but Atletico have managed to secure his services for less than that.
Atletico are in the process of overhauling their defensive options for the new campaign following the departures of experienced trio Juanfran, Filipe Luis and Diego Godin.
The LaLiga giants have already signed Porto centre-back Felipe in a €20m (£18.1m) deal and Kieran Trippier from Tottenham for €25m (£22.5m) and have bolstered their options further by landing Hermoso.
Hermoso, who came through Real Madrid’s youth academy, made the fifth-most amount of clearances in LaLiga last season (167) and missed just six games for Espanyol.
