Chelsea target Koke: I will play for Atlético Madrid next season

Atlético Madrid’s Koke has insisted he will not leave the Vicente Calderón this summer despite Chelsea’s interest in signing the Spain midfielder.

As reported by the Guardian on Thursday, the reigning Spanish champions have acted to ward off Chelsea’s interest in Koke and his team-mate Antoine Griezmann by offering new contracts to the pair. Those are expected to to include buy-out clauses set at around almost £100m each.

But while Griezmann is thought to be open to a move to the Premier League, Koke, whose real name is Jorge Resurrección Merodio, appears happy to remain where he is.

“Yes, I will play here,” the 23-year-old told AS when asked about his future.

Koke also encouraged Atlético to bring back Brazil left-back Filipe Luís, who joined Chelsea for £15.8m last summer but has found his opportunities limited.

“Filipe Luís is more than a team-mate, he is a friend, so he would be welcome here,” said Koke.

Atlético face Barcelona in Madrid on Sunday knowing a victory for Luis Enrique’s side woul seal another La Liga title. But after guiding his current team to the championship last year, Koke insisted they will not be doing the visitors any favours.

He said: “We hope that Barcelona don’t win the league at our ground. We want to finish in third and we’re not a side which does favours; we’ll be going out to win, as we always do.”

Meanwhile, Petr Cech’s agent has confirmed the Czech international has been given permission to discuss his future with any interested clubs. The 32-year-old has a year remaining on his contract and has been linked with a move to Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.

“Petr has a valid contract with his current club, however, I can confirm that we have been permitted by Chelsea to negotiate with interested parties,” Viktor Kolar told TalkSport

“Petr has confirmed his interest to play regularly at a top club.”