Manchester City, Newcastle United, and Aston Villa are understood to be eyeing up Atletico Madrid’s in-form winger Alex Baena.

The Spain international has started this season in superb form, scoring three goals in his first three games, and this has alerted some big clubs from around Europe.

Atletico Madrid have no plans to sell Baena, and a deal in the middle of the season may be particularly difficult, but I’m reliably told that the likes of Man City, Newcastle, and Villa could be ready to test the waters.

“Baena is seen as an exciting market opportunity,” one source with ties to the agents industry told me. “Clubs could establish contacts ahead of January, even if a deal would be more likely for next summer.”

Atletico Madrid will dig their heels over Alex Baena

Alex Baena celebrates a goal for Atletico Madrid (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

We’ve seen in recent weeks just how much Atletico Madrid can be to negotiate with, as they were absolutely determined to keep star striker Julian Alvarez.

Baena is another important player in Diego Simeone’s side, so it could take a huge offer to tempt them into selling any time soon, and a January deal seems even more ambitious.

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City are big admirers, however, and are open to doing some business to strengthen their attack after losing some depth in that department over the summer.

Omar Marmoush and Savio both left the Etihad Stadium, and although Enzo Maresca still has plenty of options, Baena is seen as someone who could come in and make a noticeable impact.

Will we see Alex Baena in the Premier League?

Newcastle could also do with extra attacking options after Anthony Gordon’s departure earlier in the summer, and Nick Woltemade’s struggles before he left to join Juventus on loan.

Villa, meanwhile, lost Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, so will surely also be keeping an eye on talents like this, with Baena also likely to be well known to his former manager at Villarreal, Unai Emery.

Atletico have also shown that they’re especially determined not to sell to their La Liga rivals, so that could help English clubs in the race for Baena’s signature.

I’m told that there is interest from elsewhere, with Bayern Munich and other unnamed European sides possibly in contention, though the strongest interest so far has come from City, Newcastle, and Villa.