It was reported that Atlético Madrid was one of several major European clubs present at the Renato Dall’Ara to scout Monza forward Gustavo Varela, whose progress is being closely monitored. The Spanish club was joined at the game by German sides RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. A number of Premier League clubs were represented, including Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Brighton, Brentford, and Fulham. The interest in the 21-year-old Portuguese and Cape Verdean striker follows his having scored nine goals in his first nine Serie A appearances since joining from Benfica in July 2026. The transfer fee was reported to be between €2.5 million and €3.5 million. Varela has seven caps and four goals for Portugal's U21 team, is under contract until June 2030, and has a current market value of €5.0M according to Transfermarkt. In October 2026, multiple reports from Italian media valued the player at approximately €15 million.