The situation
The transfer window in almost all championships will officially open on July 1 (the main exceptions are the Premier League on June 10 and the RPL on June 22), so before this date I decided to talk to the authors of telegram channels and other fans of top clubs about the transfer policy of their favorite teams . There will be 18 texts in total, and today’s edition is dedicated to Atlético. Even last summer, the club did not take care to add at least the depth of the composition in sagging positions. At a minimum, the right flank, the center of defense and the support zone needed to be strengthened. Playing three central defenders, Atlético were left with four players in this zone, and Simeone, already along the way, due to a wave of injuries (usually Jimenez and Savic), invented new combinations, transferring right-back Vrsaljko and defensive midfielder Kondogbia to the center of defense. On the right was Trippier and an unequal replacement in the person of Vrsaljko. As a result, Simeone plugged this zone with Marcos Llorente. In the winter, Trippier left and became very ill. In addition, Daniel Vass, who came, broke down in the first match. During the season, Carrasco, De Paul and, situationally, when everyone is on the attack, Griezmann and Correa managed to periodically light up in this position. The defensive zone sagged due to the fact that there is only one player in the middle line who can defend well – Kondogbia, but he is not very suitable for the positional attacks that Someone tried to play. The rest, on the contrary, can pass well, but worse in defense. As a result, the whole season of torment and the search for balance. Now this summer, in order to completely close the problem areas, you need to sign 4-5 players : a right back, a central defender, or even two, a defensive midfielder and a striker. This is taking into account the departure of Suarez, Herrera and, possibly, Vrsaljko and Felipe (all ended contracts). There are no clean nines in attack now (with a stretch of Cunha and Felix), so the club is monitoring the market and looking at De Thomas. But there is an option to leave Morata. Guido Rodriguez from Betis is being considered for the support zone. This is a small upgrade of Kondogbia in terms of ball handling, but Guido is also good defensively. In the center of defense I would sign David Garcia and Le Norman. The first defends well, the second moves the ball well. This will add depth, balance, and reliability. But first of all it is necessary to strengthen the right flank. There, apparently, Vass remains as a backup, and the main one will be one of these guys Jonathan Kloss / Pedro Porro / Nordi Mukiele / Nahuel Molina. From the point of view of improving the structure of the game, I would take Kloss, from the point of view of the balance of Mukiele. It will also be cheap.
Eldar Dygov
The Atlético squads that reached the Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016 were more straightforward and clumsy. Now the team looks more creative and versatile. From the outside, the roster seems really stronger than in 2014-2016, but there are not enough point buffs and more active work on the market. For example, Atlético do not have a right-back at all. Vass was injured and played only 45 minutes in six months. In addition, a Dane and not a profiled lateral. Vrsalko does not leave the infirmary, and Llorente is a forced gag. There is also no striker – Suarez left, and Morata, who returns from the loan, they want to sell.