It has been a busy summer for Atletico Madrid as the team coached by Diego Simeone has undergone a revamp with the hope of bringing more youth into the side and improving on a defence that made too many costly errors last season.
The club with the second-highest spending ceiling in Spain finished fourth last season to ensure a place in this season’s Champions League.
Much of the campaign was in the balance and it was only when Athletic Club Bilbao were derailed by Copa del Rey commitments that Atletico were able to pull clear.
A quick look at the numbers makes it easy to see where the problems were, with Atletico losing eight of their 19 matches away from home while conceding 43 goals over the season.
The defence that in recent years was so effective under Simeone, began to leak alarmingly, with players such as Mario Hermoso, Stefan Savic and Jose Gimenez below their best (although in Gimenez’s case, a continued run of injuries didn’t help).
Atletico have moved to solve those questions, with Hermoso and Savic both leaving, along with Gabriel Paulista, who arrived from Valencia in January only to play a bit-part role.
Spain international, Robin le Normand, has arrived from Real Sociedad and should provide power in the air and ability with the ball at his feet, although they may still need another centre-half.
It’s not just in defence where Atletico have been active. The season will see big changes in attack with the big-money signings of Alexander Sorloth (the second-highest goalscorer in La Liga last season) and Julian Alvarez from Manchester City for a club record fee.
They look like a considerable upgrade on Memphis Depay and Alvaro Morata, whose confidence dropped after a good first half to the season, with Alvarez providing trickery in and around the area, while Sorloth offers the power that Atletico has lacked in attack.
Antoine Griezmann will continue to contribute hard work and talent, while Angel Correa shows year after year that he is a useful player to come off the bench.
It’s so far uncertain what will happen with the powerful Samu Omorodion, who returns after a successful loan at Alaves, but looked likely to join Chelsea before the deal fell through.
That collapse means Atletico are still waiting to close the purchase of Conor Gallagher from Chelsea, although the England international has been training with them. Gallagher looks to be a perfect player for Simeone, with a high work rate and an eye for goal, and when that deal is closed, he too should be an upgrade on Saul Niguez, who has joined Sevilla.
The summer looks to have left Atletico in a good position, with a stronger and more balanced squad than last season, and although Real Madrid look a step ahead of everyone else in La Liga over the course of the season, Atletico will fancy their chances in a head-to-head game with their neighbours.
With Barca struggling financially and Girona losing key players, Simeone’s side should target at least second place, and they have the players to entertain.
The problem with Atletico so many times is that when things go wrong, Simeone reverts to type and prefers to defend. If he does that, it will be a shame.
