The 21-year-old Belgium international signed for Atlético Madrid last week on a five-year deal with Diego Simeone identifying the tricky winger as a direct replacement for the Barcelona new boy Arda Turan.
Yet the new Atléti man has been quick to fend off comparisons between the two.
Carrasco was officially presented in the famous red and white colours of Atléti last week, accompanied by chairman Enrique Cerezo and Sporting Director José Luis Pérez Caminero at Majadahonda’s Sports City.
The former AS Monaco winger is believed to have cost the 2013-14 La Liga champions around €20 million, half of the total Atléti received from the sale of Turan to Barcelona last week. However, depending on the Barca presidential elections, the Turk could still end up back in Madrid.
“We are pleased to welcome Yannick Carrasco to our Club, a young 21 year-old Belgian who has shown his quality and projection in Monaco. Despite his youth, the footballer has won his stripes as an international with Belgium and has had noteworthy performances in the Champions League with the club from Monaco,” Cerezo said.
Pérez also praised the new signing.
“He is a player with great speed, who’s excellent at driving the ball and has a great shot,” he said.
If it was not already clear that Carrasco’ signing was meant to replace Turan, the player’s very own statement further suggested Simeone’s motives for acquiring the Belgian youngster to replace the outgoing attacker.
“He told me he liked my ability to defend and also to attack in one-on-ones. I know he was a good player and as a coach he is one of the best. I wanted to be with him,” Carrasco said.
One would assume a fleet-footed winger with the ability to both defend and threaten opposition with individual skill and goalscoring traits would be a direct replacement for a departed player with a similar skill set. But despite carrying similar characteristics and occupying the same role, Carrasco has been quick to play down comparisons to Turan.
“I have not come to replace Arda Turan. I am a quick player who likes to play on the left wing,” he told reporters.
Yet the Belgian comes out on top when comparing he and Turan’s stats from the 2014-15 season. Turan’s performances were well below the standards he showed during Atléti’s league triumph the year prior. With a total of 41 appearances, both in La Liga and Champions League competitions, Turan was only able to contribute to three goals and accrue six assists with 3,104 minutes played. Having played 514 minutes more than the 2013-14 season, Turan was still unable to replicate the same form.
Carrasco, on the other hand, played five more games than Turan, totalling 46 appearances for Monaco in Ligue 1 and Champions League, and played 3,419 minutes. He scored a total of seven goals and ten assists. Yet while playing 315 minutes more than the former Atléti player, Carrasco had a more proficient season than Turan and is seven years younger than the Turk, so still has plenty of room for development.
Defensively, Carrasco has shown promise, and, more importantly, efficiency, maintaining an 81% success rate of tackles won with eight clearances and two blocks during the Ligue 1 2014-15 season. His statistics would have been appealed to Simeone and the Atlético board, even more so following Turan’s sudden demands for a move away.
Having played three seasons with Monaco, Carrasco has accumulated a total of 105 appearances for a club competing against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille for domestic titles, as well as a successful return to European competition which featured a surprising run to the quarter-finals. The Principality club famously defeated Arsenal along the way to get there.
With experience competing at an elite level early in his career, Carrasco has the potential to develop into a player more than capable of replacing the departed Turkish winger and even overtaking him. For €20 million, Carrasco’s signing looks to be a major coup for Atléti.
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