Jackson Martinez poised to join Atletico Madrid from Porto

Atletico Madrid are poised to sign Colombian forward Jackson Martinez after meeting his 35million euro buy-out clause, Porto have announced.

Top European clubs including Arsenal and AC Milan were reportedly keen to acquire the services highly-rated 28-year-old.

But former Primera Division champions Atletico have now won the race to sign Martinez, who was under contract with Porto for another two seasons.

A statement from Porto read: “Atletico Madrid have informed Porto they will pay Jackson Martinez’s buy-out clause — which is set at 35million euros.”

Martinez is expected to sign a four-year deal with Atletico, who are keen to strengthen their attacking options after selling Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic to Juventus last week.

After joining the Portuguese giants from Chiapas in 2012, Martinez scored 92 goals in 136 official games for Porto and was the top scorer in the Primeira Liga for the past three campaigns.

He scored 21 goals in 29 league appearances as Porto finished as runners-up to Benfica last season.

Martinez has recently been competing for Colombia at the Copa America in Chile.

Atletico, who are coached by Diego Simeone, finished third in La Liga and will play in next season's Champions League.