Reports in Spain are claiming that Atletico boss Diego Simeone is interested in signing both William Carvalho and Julian Weigl.
It is believed that Simeone wants reinforcement in centre midfield and appears to be planning for the future with two of Europe's brightest young prospects, according to Spanish news outlet "?AS.
#Atleti quiere a William Carvalho (@Sporting_CP) o a Julian Weigl (@BVB) para reforzar el mediocentro ??
Carvalho - who has been linked with a move to Liverpool this month - broke into the Sporting Lisbon side in 2013 and has been a regular ever since.
The 24-year-old was a key part of the Portuguese side who won the European Championships last summer, playing five times in the tournament.
Carvalho - who is predominantly played as a holding midfielder - has played 29 times for Sporting this season, registering one goal.
Atletico's other target is believed to be Dortmund's Julian Weigl. The 21-year-old moved to the Westfalenstadion in 2015 and played an impressive 51 games last season.
Weigl has also been linked with Manchester City, but boss Thomas Tuchel is not believed to be willing to part with the midfielder.
The former 1860 Munich player has made four caps for Germany so far and was included in last summer's Euro 2016 squad, yet didn't feature for the side.
It is unclear whether Simeone is planning to bid this window for the midfielders, or wait until the summer. Either way it will most probably take big money to pry their targets from their current employers.
Atletico are currently having an indifferent season. The team from the Spanish capital have become used to success having won La Liga in 2013/14 and were runners up in the Champions League in 2013/14 and 2015/16.
This year however, Simeone's men find themselves fourth in the league and halfway through the season are eight points off leaders Real.
Yet the side are still competing in the Copa del Rey and Champions League this season.