Atletico want to replace Suarez a year after he helped them win La Liga

Atletico Madrid are apparently on the lookout for a new striker. Interestingly, reports out of Spain suggest that they are particularly on the hunt for a suitable replacement for Luis Suarez, and Elche forward Lucas Boye has caught their attention.

It comes as no surprise that Boye is now on the radar of some of La Liga's biggest clubs, especially after scoring against Villarreal and Real Madrid earlier this month. FC Barcelona have also been sniffing around, but reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are strongly being linked.

Antoine Griezmann has been struggling to shake off an injury this season, and has not contributed as much as manager Diego Simeone would have liked. However, Football Espana reports that it is Suarez who is currently on the chopping block.

What a difference a year makes for the Uruguay international, who came to Atletico from Barcelona in controversial fashion last season. He felt that he was unceremoniously kicked out by the Catalan giants after he was reportedly told that he was getting older and could no longer compete at the top level.

Suarez gained vindication quickly after finding his footing at the Wanda Metropolitano almost as soon as he arrived. He was instrumental in the club's journey to the La Liga title in 2020-21, and even scored the goal that sealed the victory which finally put Real Madrid out of contention in the closing stages of the season.

Now, the defending champions are all the way down in 4th place, 14 points behind leaders Real Madrid. They want to make massive changes as soon as possible, and adding an aggressive young attacker like Boye may be the answer they are looking for.

Atletico will need to fork up the €25m release clause, unless Elche get relegated. If that happens, the clause drops down to only €10. Despite his recent ankle injury, 25-year-old is at a good age to still be reliable on the fitness department, but with enough years under his belt to have the experience needed to be comfortable at a championship winning team. It remains to be seen if the transfer will come to fruition.