MADRID- Atletico Madrid are in talks with Olympique Lyonnais to sign French forward Moussa Dembele on loan until the end of the season, the Ligue 1 club's sporting director Juninho has said.

Atletico are looking to sign a striker to boost their La Liga title charge and Champions League knockout hopes after Diego Costa left the club this month.

Dembele, 24, scored 31 Ligue 1 goals in his first two seasons with Lyon since switching from Celtic but has only made six league starts this campaign, scoring once.

Juninho told French television programme Telefoot that Dembele had asked him if he could move, adding that the forward had agreed personal terms with Atletico but the clubs were still negotiating.

"He told me that he has lost a bit of motivation. Moussa is a player that I like very much and that we were counting on. But keeping someone who doesn't want to live a real and intense life for the next five months is not ideal," Juninho said.

Atletico, who have a one-point lead at the top of La Liga with three games in hand, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Richard Martin, additional reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Ed Osmond) ((r.pmartin87@gmail.com;))