Atlético Madrid are looking to beat Aston Villa to the loan signing of Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea, sources told ESPN.
Mateu Alemany, the Spanish club's director of football, travelled to London for negotiations to sign the Senegalese striker, who spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich.
Sources close to Los Colchoneros told ESPN that Diego Simeone admires Jackson's verticality, physicality and international experience.
However, Aston Villa are also making a strong push to sign Jackson, amid reports that Ollie Watkins could move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.
Unai Emery gave Jackson his debut while they were at Villareal, and has an excellent personal relationship with the Senegalese forward.
Jackson scored 13 goals in 48 appearances during his time in Spain. He followed that up with 30 in 81 for Chelsea, before scoring 11 in 34 games for Bayern Munich last season.
He also has eight goals in 37 caps for his country.
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Atlético's move for the 25-year-old comes with Julián Álvarez currently enduring a run of difficult form. The Argentine star has been repeatedly linked with a move away to either Barcelona or Arsenal.
ESPN reported on Wednesday that the Catalan side have shelved their attempts to sign Álvarez and are exploring other striker options.
Álvarez's teammate at Atleti, Alexander Sørloth, is currently out with an injury and has not been training with the team.
Information from ESPN's James Olley contributed to this report.
