Atlético Madrid has lost Diego Costa, David Villa, Felipe Luís, and Thibaut Courtois, but don’t shed too many tears for the reigning Spanish champions. Getafe’s Miguel Ángel Moyà has been given the one shirt, while Bayern Munich castoff Mario Madzukic could prove a better fit than Costa up top.
But the summer’s biggest prize could still be a few days from the Vicente Calderón. According to reports out of Spain, French international Antoine Griezmann is in the process of negotiating personal terms with Atleti, with Real Sociedad having already agreed to a $40 million deal that would send the 23-year-old to the capital.
Coming off 16-goal season at Anoeta, Griezman would help replace Costa’s goals, and with his versatility allowing him to play wide or in support of Mandzukic, Atlético would no longer depend on one mona. Added to Arda Turan, Koke, Gabi, and Raúl Garcia, Mandzukic and Griezmann would form a more diverse attack, one capable of keeping Atleti near the top of the Primera Division.
Atlético head coach Diego Simeone, speaking from his team’s tour in California, trumpeted that versatility while remaining cautious the deal. From AS:“He’s a very good player. He is very quick and can give us a lot of options in attack.” [...]
“It’s also true that a lot of other players have been talked about as possibly coming [to Atlético], and we could make two teams out of all of them.”
Griezmann’s a great talent, but as encouraging as the name is for Atlético fans, the size of the fee is the bigger news. For a club that seems to live in constant economic uncertainty, it was unclear how much of their summer income would go back into the club. With a $40 million figure being thrown around, those fears can be alleviated. Even if Griezmann doesn’t move to the Calderón, Atlético’s prepared to maintain a strong squad.
If he does move, however, Atlético may be as strong as last year. That doesn’t mean Simeone will duplicate his title-winning magic, but replacing Costa with Mandzukic and Griezmann could turn into a plus for Spain’s holders.