MADRID, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Madrid on Thursday confirmed the signing of midfielder Marcos Llorente from neighbors Real Madrid for a fee thought to be in the region of 40 million euros (45 million US dollars).
Llorente's arrival will cover the imminent departure of Rodrigo Hernandez, who is expected to join Manchester City for 70 million euros in the near future.
The 24-year-old Real Madrid youth team product stood out three seasons ago on loan to Deportivo Alaves, but found opportunities limited on his return to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, playing just 540 minutes league football in each of the last two campaigns.
He impressed when given a chance during Santiago Solari's brief spell in charge last season, but was given few opportunities by Zinedine Zidane who replaced Solari and preferred the Brazilian Casemiro.
Llorente has signed a five-year contract with Atletico which will keep him at the club until the end of June 2024.
Interestingly his father 'Paco' Llorente was also a professional footballer who played for both Real and Atletico Madrid in his career and now Marcos will follow in his footsteps.
Atletico are expected to confirm another signing in the coming days with the club reported to have agreed to pay the 120 million euro buyout clause of Benfica's 19-year-old forward Joao Felix.
