Girona's Dovbyk starts pre-season with a brace as Atletico keep monitoring him

The future of Artem Dovbyk is still unknown as we approach the month of August. The Ukrainian striker, top scorer in the last La Liga season, is on the radar of Atletico Madrid, who are negotiating with Girona to sign him. The Metropolitano outfit want Dovbyk to ease the departure of Alvaro Morata, but so far no agreement has been reached between the clubs.

Meanwhile, after his participation in the European Championship, the striker has already rejoined the Girona squad in these first days of pre-season and has played his second friendly match with the Montilivi outfit, against Montpellier. After failing to score a few days ago against Olot, the No 9 made the difference against the French side. 

Dovbyk gave Atletico further reason to make a financial push for his transfer, as the Cherkasy native scored a brace in just over half an hour during the second test with Girona in the summer of 2024. The Ukrainian's first goal, which made it 1-1, came with an inch-perfect finish in the six-yard box.

A few minutes later, the striker received the ball with space through a long ball and, again with his left foot, he finished brilliantly in front of the French goalkeeper to put his team ahead for the time being. In the end, the duel between the two sides ended in a dramatic 3-3 draw, with Nordin and Khazri (twice) scoring Montpellier's goals and Manu Vallejo grabbing the Catalan side's third.

 

July 20, 2024