Atletico Mineiro ready to meet Sampaoli demands

Atletico Mineiro will attempt to meet the transfer demands of head coach Jorge Sampaoli, despite economic restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Brazilian club's president said on Sunday.

Sampaoli replaced Venezuelan Rafael Dudamel as Atletico's head coach in early March but oversaw just two training sessions before football was suspended because of the health crisis.

"We are going to try to bring in the players that he has asked for," Atletico president Sergio Sette Camara said in an interview broadcast on Brazilian television. "We'll no longer be able to make the level of investments that we'd planned, but we'll make adjustments to the squad.

"Investment doesn't necessarily mean breaking the bank. We'll act according to what Sampaoli has been asking for."

Sampaoli is in his second year in Brazil, having guided Santos to second place in last year's Brazilian Serie A and then leaving days after the season finished because of a row with club officials.

The 60-year-old Argentinian, who led Chile to their first Copa America title in 2015, has also coached Sevilla and was Argentina's boss at the 2018 Word Cup in Russia.