La Liga is just a few night’s sleep away, and the teams in Spain are all gearing up for the new season. While many would say Real Madrid had the most impressive transfer window in terms of their signings, that actually might not be true. Their ‘noisy neighbours’, the Rojiblancos, better known as Atletico de Madrid have had a very underrated transfer window.
Diego Simeone hardly signs a player for big money, so when he does, it has to be for a very special player. The last time Atleti splashed a huge bag of cash on a player, was in 2019 when they broke the bank for Joao Felix. As it turns out, that turned out to be a huge mistake. Atletico ever since have not splashed big money on anyone else, but that changed this week when Julian Alvarez signed for the Madrid club for a staggering 82 Million Euros.
The Argentinian striker was a surplus for Manchester City with Erling Haaland being Pep Guardiola’s first-choice striker. A move was imminent. And Atletico swept in with the required cash. Atletico de Madrid would be the perfect club for the 24-year-old to build his legacy. Rojiblancos has seen a line of great strikers playing for them in the past. Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres, and even the idol of Alvarez himself, Sergio Aguero. Can he step into their shoes and make an impact in La Liga? Only time will tell. But Julian Alvarez is just the tip of the iceberg that Diego Simeone has been working on behind the scenes.
The Madrid club have worked on 3 other signings which promise to be era-defining at the Wanda Metropolitano. The first was Robin Le Normand, the French-born Spanish international who won the Euros with Spain last month. The centre-back is a towering figure who is very adept at playing out from the back with good pace on his side. The perfect player for a Diego Simeone side.
The next in line was Alexander Sørloth. The player was a star for Villareal last season scoring 23 goals in La Liga just missing out on the Pichichi Award (awarded to the top scorer of the league), to Artem Dovbyk by a solitary goal. Alvaro Morata, Atletico’s talisman moved on from Madrid to Milan this summer window and hardly can a club find a replacement for a player so similar in so less of time. But with, Sørloth, the Rojiblancos have got exactly that. A physical monster who can score goals at will.
The most surprising of signings is undoubtedly Conor Gallagher, who travelled to Madrid last night to complete his signing with his medicals. The English midfielder was captain at Chelsea, but anyone would tell you that it wasn’t working out for him at the London Club. The move to Atletico is a breath of fresh air for Gallagher and a chance to become a defining player under Simeone. The Pablo Barrios – Conor Gallagher partnership at the centre of the park will definitely be one to watch out for.
Atletico Madrid have scored themselves a superb transfer window without coming into the media spotlight thanks to the attention of Mbappe’s arrival on the other side of Madrid. If I had to rate their transfer window, it would surely be an 11/10. So, with the new arrivals under their old boss, can Atleti be a contender for big trophies? Sure! Real Madrid and Barcelona better beware!
