Atletico Madrid will start the 2022/23 campaign as third favourites, according to the early La Liga 2022 betting odds, and ever was it so. But Rojiblancos fans don’t have to look back too far to recall when their team was top of the tree.
Just two years ago Atleti won the La Liga title, edging out Real Madrid, as Luis Suarez scored the winner in a final day clash against Real Valladolid. But now Suarez is heading for the exit door at the Wanda Metropolitano and he will be a big loss which the club needs to deal with, while the departure of experienced right back Kieran Trippier, five months ago, is the second big area to be addressed.
Both Los Blancos and Barcelona are working to strengthen their teams, as we reported in our recent SBOTOP blog, and Atleti will need to do the same to keep pace with the El Clasico giants.
But the financial situation at the club could be kinder for head coach Diego Simeone.
The current squad at the club is exceeding La Liga limits and while the departure of Suarez will ease the situation slightly, Simeone has work to do to balance the numbers and plug the gaps.
Efforts to offload Alvaro Morata to Juventus and Saul Niguez to Chelsea, where they were on loan last season, have stalled with neither club yet ready to spend the money Atleti are looking for. Suarez’ future looks to be settled though, as the 35 year old Uruguayan is close to a move to River Plate in Argentina.
Any fears that fellow striker Joao Felix may be on his way have been dispelled by the player who, despite interest from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, has said he’s happy to stay in Madrid. Felix is a guy we can rely on for La Liga 2022 highlights, and he could be set to link up with another young striker if Simeone can bring Sassuolo hitman Gianluca Scamacca to the club, but the Atleti boss does have serious competition.
Juventus have been tracking the striker who, at 6ft 5in tall, is a real handful and has already won seven caps with the Azzurri. The Bianconeri’s interest may cool if they can come to an agreement to sign Morata; the Spaniard has plenty of experience and a good relationship with Juve boss Max Allegri. And Scamacca may be tempted by a move to Atletico where he would be the main man, spearheading the attack with Felix in the Number Ten role or drifting in from the wing.
A replacement for Trippier
Since the departure of England right back Kieran Trippier, Atleti have been unbalanced and haven’t really settled on a replacement within the squad, with Sime Vrsaljko also set to leave with his contract at an end. As things stand Simeone can only plug the gap with a makeshift defender; midfield pair Daniel Wass and Marcos Llorente have both been asked to slot in at times.
The boss is after a high quality right back to complete his first 11, and ideally two to give himself some cover throughout a long and grueling campaign.
So who is on Simeone’s list?
Udinese’s Argentine star Nahuel Molina is Simeone’s favourite but, until he can raise some cash, the 20M Euro price tag may be a sticking point. So he is looking elsewhere, predominantly in the Premier League where he is keeping tabs on Wolves right back Nelson Semedo and Tottenham Hotspur’s Emerson Royal. Portuguese star Semedo has La Liga experience, previously with Barcelona, and Atleti were keen to buy him when Wolves swooped in 2020. He’s impressed at the Midlands club but suffered a recurring hamstring injury in the second part of last season and still has work to do to regain match fitness by the start of the campaign.
Third on the list is Celtic full back Josip Juranovic who, at 26 years of age, is the type of player Simeone could happily replace Trippier with. Like the England man, Juranovic isn’t the tallest of defenders but he is strong in the tackle and provides good support for the forwards, with a willingness to raid down the flanks and he has a good delivery.
There is another potential opportunity for Simeone to raid Tottenham as centre back Japhet Tanganga has been out of favour, and then he suffered a knee injury to keep him out of the second half of the campaign. He has played on the right side of Spurs’ three man defence but the 23 year old has also operated at right back where he has arguably had his better games under Antonio Conte. The move might tempt Tanganga who will have limited opportunities at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but he might fit in very nicely at Atletico Madrid.
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