With notable departures during the current transfer period, a new and younger Atlético Madrid will look to continue the progress the club has made and attempt to repeat the 2013-14 league success, adopting a new attacking style of play.
The sale of senior players Mario Mandžukić (29), Arda Turan (28), João Miranda (30) and Toby Alderweireld (26) have been replaced by the younger Luciano Vietto (21), Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco (21) and Ángel Correa (20), as well as the return of Óliver Torres (20). With these arrivals comes the emergence of fellow youngsters Saúl Ñíguez (20), José Giménez (20) and Jan Oblak (22), all names that began transitioning into the first team last season.
Along with experienced youngsters Koke (23) and Antoine Griezmann (24), Diego Simeone has already begun the transition of the Madrid side for future campaigns. Simeone has initiated his first tactical move for the new season as he looks to change from his defensive 4-4-2 to a more attacking 4-3-3, relocating Koke back into his favoured central position. The Argentine will look to build his new-look Atléti team around the Spanish international.
Between the posts, Serbian Oblak has finally settled down in the Spanish capital and looks to have firmly replaced Miguel Ángel Moyà as number one goalkeeper with exceptional performances towards the end of last season. Conceding six league goals in 11 La Liga starts, Oblak won many admirers with superb saves, sparking rumours of interest from Manchester United. At the age of 22, Atléti looks to have a very reliable custodian for the long foreseeable future.
With Miranda departing, Giménez has taken the role of marshalling the back line alongside fellow countryman Diego Godín. His defensive abilities give a promising suggestion of a high calibre centre-back, a rarity these days in football.
Juanfran will continue to occupy the right-back position as recently returned youngster Javi Manquillo still requires further development and will most likely leave on loan again with Jesús Gámez instead providing competition. Left-back still occupies an issue for Simeone. Whilst willing to give Guilherme Siqueira another chance to be among the starting XI, rumours have suggested a move for former defender, Filipe Luís. Atléti president Enrique Cerezo has spoken of two new signings next week and Luís looks to be one of those players.
In midfield, suggestions have been made of a youthful trio consisting of three home-grown Atléti players Saúl and Torres alongside Koke. Yet the move may be too soon to accommodate the youngsters and on the big stage might show against elite European opposition. Instead current captain, Gabi, should be partnered with Koke and Saúl to provide the experience needed. Torres, Tiago and Mario Suárez, depending if he departs or not, look to support in rotation in what will hopefully be a long season in both domestic and European competition.
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Up front is where exciting times appears for Los Rojiblancos. With Spanish giants and rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona occupying a devastating front three, now Simeone has his own trio that look to challenge his La Liga rivals. With only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi having scored more league goals, Griezmann looks certain to be among one part of Atléti’s front three. With three new signings that would all desire to move straight into the first team, Simeone has a tough task in selecting Griezmann’s two partners.
This week officially saw Colombian and FC Porto striker Jackson Martínez agree on a four year contract with Sporting Director Jose Luis Perez Caminero, appealing his delight at acquiring the experience striker.
“We are very pleased with the agreement, because Jackson Martínez is an extraordinary striker, able to rapidly solve any attacking play inside the box. Thanks to his size, he heads very well and interchangeably uses either feet to shoot. I am sure that he will greatly increase the potential of our team and will bring plenty to the group. We are delighted with his signing because he is a football player used to compete at a top level in Porto and has shone brightly in important competitions such as the Champions League”, Perez stated on the Club website.
With Atléti spending €35 million in preying the Colombian away from Portugal, it looks to be very unlikely of being placed among the bench. With his strength and skill on the ball, Martínez sets to be the pivotal focus in the front three allowing Fernando Torres and even Raúl García to provide rotational options for the more central forward roles.
That leaves new signings Vietto and Carrasco competing for the last vacant spot in the attacking line-up. Whilst being a favourite of Simeone, Vietto has shown to be struggling to the tough preseason training with video footage of the Argentine exhausted and panting on the sidelines. A strong case Vietto holds is with having experience in La Liga, which may prove a more reliable option for Simeone, however the manager may look for the more natural winger, Carrasco, to feature alongside Martínez and Griezmann.
Both at the age of 21 and experienced at elite level, Vietto and Carrasco will definitely feature extensively next season and hopefully years to come in what is becoming a young and exciting Atléti starting XI.
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