Sevilla president Jose Castro says he would not listen to any bid for his team's forward Kevin Gameiro, who has been linked with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, and would prefer the France international extended his current deal at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan.
Reports in both the French and Spanish press have claimed that Atletico have made contact with Gameiro's representatives to arrange a deal, while it has often been claimed that Barca also want to bring in a player who hit 29 goals in 52 games last season for Sevilla, including a one in their 3-1 Europa League final win over Liverpool.
Sevilla reportedly want €40 million for the 29-year-old who was surprisingly left out of France's Euro 2016 squad, although Atletico apparently see the price as within the €25-€30m range.
The Andalusian outfit's chief said in Estadio Deportivo that the best for Sevilla would be for Gameiro to extend his contract past 2018 and stay where he is.
"With Gameiro the only thing we want is for him to sign a new contract and stay with us," Castro said. "He still has two years of contract with Sevilla. We will not look at any offers for him at the moment."
Atletico's options for centre-forward next season include Borja Baston, who hit 18 La Liga goals on loan at Eibar last season, and has returned to begin preseason training with the Calderon outfit this week.
Baston, who turns 24 in August, came through the youth ranks at Atletico but has spent most of his career on loan elsewhere, and only made one substitute appearance so far for the first team in La Liga.
There has been speculation that the powerful No. 9 could go on loan yet again for 2016-17, with Sevilla, Valencia and Malaga among the clubs mentioned as possible destinations. Any move is now on hold however due to a fractured forearm picked up at training on Thursday, confirmed by an Atletico club statement.
"Borja Gonzalez Baston retired injured from the day's first training session in Los Angeles de San Rafael," the statement said. "Tests have confirmed that the forward suffered a fracture in his left forearm and underwent an operation to have a plate inserted."
Baston himself said in the statement that he was only thinking now about recovering and returning to preseason training at Atletico as quickly as the injury permits.
"I want to thank everyone for their support and affection," he said. "The operation went well and I am now just thinking about recovering to get back with my teammates as soon as possible."
Another young Atletico forward being put through his paces by Atletico's fitness coach Oscar "El Profe" Ortega this week is Rafael Santos Borre, who was signed for €5m in summer 2015 and then spent last season back on loan with Colombian club Deportivo Cali.
The 20-year-old said at his presentation on Thursday that he was not now looking to gain experience elsewhere in La Liga on loan, but would give everything to convince Diego Simeone he was worth a first-team spot at Atletico.
"I'll do what I can to stay, if that means sweating blood, I will do that," he said. "I have elite-level teammates. I arrive in a learning process and I hope to be able to learn so I can win many victories with Atleti.
"I only think of making an effort, working, and contribute to the team. I am a slightly different forward. I'm not a typical No. 9, because I move more. I think that can bring other things to the team's forward line."