Over the course of the summer transfer window, we will take a close look at some of the biggest and best business with our ‘Transfer of the Week’ columns. This time, we will turn our attention to the most expensive signing of this pre-season.
By Neel Shelat
Even though they have not won too many titles in recent years, Atlético Madrid have always been a third power alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona in LaLiga. One of the things holding them back from regularly being serious title contenders is their relatively limited budget. The fact that their total transfer expenditure has not entered nine digits in any of the last four seasons should underscore that.
At the same time, Atléti are not entirely averse to making some blockbuster moves, as the signings of João Félix (€127 million from Benfica in 2019), Thomas Lemar (€72 million from Monaco in 2018) and Diego Costa (€60 million from Chelsea in 2018) should suggest. Clearly, they have not gotten particularly good value for money from such moves in the past.
Nevertheless, Atlético have paid the biggest transfer fee this summer so far, signing Julián Álvarez for €90 million. Five years after they smashed their transfer record to bring in a player of a fairly similar profile, is there reason to believe things will work out differently this time? One big factor certainly seems to suggest so, as we will explore now.
Stylistic Shift
What is the first thing you think of as far as Atlético Madrid’s style of play under Diego Simeone is concerned? Words such as dogged, intense, and defence-first likely come to mind, and they aren’t far off the mark at all. For most of the 12+ years the Argentine coach has been in charge of the club, that is exactly how they have played.
Of late, though, they have quietly undergone a stylistic shift to become a more possession-based team. Here are some simple stats to back that idea up. In 2019/20 (the first season after Félix’s signing), Atlético Madrid were 10th in the league in terms of average possession with a figure of 48.4%. Last term, they were 6th with over 50%. More markedly, their passing accuracy has gone up from 76.5% to 82.4% between those two seasons.
In fact, Atléti’s stylistic shift has been made over the last couple of seasons. Rather than always defending in a compact block and attacking quite directly, Simeone has attempted to add another facet to his side’s play by equipping them to be more patient with possession. This not only relieves some pressure from a defensive department that is not as good as it once was in terms of player quality, but it also enables Los Colchoneros to better control games with the ball.
To make the most of such a more possession-based approach, Atlético obviously need creative ball-to-feet attackers. Of course, they already have one brilliant player of this profile in their squad in Antoine Griezmann, but they are perhaps overreliant on him. In the last two seasons, he has been both Atléti’s top scorer and top provider.
A team’s best player topping the charts is not at all a bad thing necessarily, but Atlético could certainly do with a bit more multidimensionality in their attacking rather than going through the Frenchman all the time. The fact that Griezmann was not on the scoresheet in nine of their 10 league defeats last term should make that need clear. Ideally, that is where Álvarez comes in.
How Álvarez Can Fit In
Having spent such a big sum on a player of Álvarez’s profile – a very clever attacker who likes to see a lot of the ball and thrives in possession-based sides thanks to his intelligent movement between the lines, playmaking ability and lively link-up play – it is safe to assume that Atlético Madrid are going to be fully sticking with their more possession-based approach. So, they should be open to dropping a midfielder from their usual 3-5-2 formation of last season and switching to a 3-4-2-1.
Besides Álvarez, Atlético have made another big signing in attack by bringing in Alexander Sørloth, whose job will be to replace Álvaro Morata as the team’s leading striker. The two are quite different in terms of playing styles, as the Norwegian international is very much a line-leading striker who can serve as a big man up top with limited involvement outside the box, whereas the Spanish captain likes to get involved in the build-up play a lot more. This change also favours the switch to a one-striker system.
With all of that in mind, we can now use FotMob’s new lineup builder feature to take a look at how Atlético could shape up this season.
If everything clicks, the attack will hardly be a weakness in this side. Both Álvarez and Griezmann should comfortably break into double digits in terms of league goals as they can both pose a significant shooting threat, while Sørloth could well get the service to produce another 25+ goal season.
Ironically, the defensive department is the one with the biggest question marks for Atléti. They will hope to get some more stability from summer signing Robin Le Normand, who also is an excellent ball-player. The ages of those around him are a concern, but if they can produce another high-level season, Los Colchoneros might just have enough to return to the top two in the table.
For his part, Álvarez will inevitably have a lot to do over the next few years to justify the huge sum Atlético Madrid have spent on him. For now, though, his addition should make them a very exciting team to follow at the very least.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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