The players that could fill the hole left by Lucas in Atletico Madrid's defence Atletico Madrid Godin and Filipe Luis also out of contract

Atletico Madrid have a problem next season in one of the areas which has always been a strength under Diego Simeone.

With Lucas Hernandez's transfer to Bayern Munich for 80 million euros confirmed and Diego Godin and Filipe Luis to walk away upon the expiration of their contracts.

Cholo and the Rojiblancos must get to work already to find alternatives to complete a staff that for 2019/20 can only count on Stefan Savic, Jose Gimenez, Juanfran, Santiago Arias and Sime Vrsaljko, although the injured Inter loanee's future is far from certain.

There are many names who have already been linked to Atletico, among them is one of the men who has been coveted the most, Matthijs De Ligt.

The Ajax centre-back is on the agenda of almost every major club in Europe, which obviously makes him a difficult signing.

The Dutchman is being closely monitored by Andrea Berta's team though and they are among the sides determined to recruit him.

But De Ligt isn't the only Ajax man who could make the move to the Spanish capital and Simeone's side could reinforce by bringing in Nicolas Tagliafico.

The Argentine defender, who has already expressed his desire to leave Amsterdam this summer, could reinforce a position that is going to be problematic due to the likely exit of Filipe Luis.

His name has been marked in red on Berta's agenda and they have held some discussions with the player in recent months and the fact that he could be available for 25 million euros makes him an attractive prospect.

Another left-back in mind for Atletico is Alex Telles and the Porto man has a clause in his contract which would allow him to leave for 40 million euros, although the Rojiblancos would be keen to have that price reduced.

The 26-year-old's contract expires in 2021 and is among the potential names to come in and fill Lucas' shoes.

The fourth player on the list of possible arrivals is Ruben Dias, Benfica's 21-year-old centre-back, who seems best placed to fill the hole that Godin will leave behind.

Within the Lisbon club, they value the youngster at a fee of 40 million euros.