It was a disappointing season for Atletico Madrid. They can look at the entirety of this year and say that securing a UCL spot in La Liga is a success. In the Champions League, a terrible first leg versus Manchester City could not be overcome by a good second leg, so they flailed out in the quarterfinals. Now, Atletico Madrid looks to come back into the La Liga title discussion. To do that, they will need some changes in the summer. Here are three moves Atletico Madrid must make in 2022 summer transfer window.
Moves Atletico Madrid need to make in the 2022 summer
Get more creative in the midfield
A huge issue of Atletico Madrid, one that stems from their playstyle, is the overall lack of creativity in the midfield. Most chances come from the genius of Joao Felix, who has had one of his best seasons in the Atletico Madrid jersey. Some of them come from Antoine Griezmann, who had an okay year playing back in his beloved Atleti colors. However, these two guys, together with come creativity coming from the back, mainly from the fullbacks, is not enough. Thankfully for them, there are a ton of these options in the market, especially for free transfers. Should they look hard enough, Atletico can find their guy in the market this summer.
The biggest one is Paulo Dybala and that is not even debatable. Dybala is still a very good player and despite his injury history, whichever club he joins, he will be playing at a very high level. It is tough to see him leaving Italy, but due to the Argentinian link with coach Diego Simeone, there is always a chance. If they want to go domestic, Isco from Real Madrid is a viable option. Obviously, it would be incredible to see that, but Marcos Llorente set the precedent and he has been fantastic for the squad since joining from Madrid a couple of years back. Still, between the two, Dybala is a better option. Let's see whether Atletico Madrid can get their man in the summer.
Get another striker to replace Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez is leaving the club after spending two seasons playing for Atletico Madrid. Overall, 83 games for Atleti and 34 goals, it seems like the maximum that they could have gotten from the Uruguayan striker that was already aging when he joined them in 2020. Now, he is leaving the club and while there are a ton of good offensive options in Atletico's roster, there are no out-and-out strikers, something that the club needs. All of their offensive players are hybrid forwards and although some of them are close to being world-class, they are not Luis Suarez, a guy who basically brought them the 2020-21 La Liga title.
In their search for a new striker, it is entirely possible that Atletico Madrid does not have to leave Spain. There are two amazing strikers in La Liga, both would fit their game plan, and both would not absolutely break the bank at Wanda Metropolitano. One of them is Raul de Tomas and the other is Hugo Duro. Both are, interestingly enough, products of the Real Madrid La Fabrica, but they are young, Spanish strikers, and they are proven in the league. De Tomas scored 17 goals in the season playing for Espanyol, while Duro scored eight in 23 appearances for Valencia. However, besides the numbers, they are strong, quick, and show no hesitation to press, something Simeone values a lot. It would be great if one of them could be brought in.
Look to change the coach
Diego Cholo Simeone is forever going to remain a huge hero to Atletico Madrid fans. He brought them two Champions League finals appearances, two La Liga titles, countless wins over Real Madrid and Barcelona, and brought Atletico Madrid out of the shadow of Real Madrid. His tactics and antics became legendary, but it all seems like it has run its course. Simeone is still himself, he never changes, no matter the personnel he operates on the field, and it just seems like it is starting to hurt Atletico Madrid and their reputation. It feels odd to say, as their reputation is brought upon by Simeone, but some refereeing decisions against Manchester City feel driven by Simeone's antics next to the field.
Additionally, Atletico Madrid is reportedly paying Diego Simeone €3.3 million per month, which is around €39.6 million per year. Right now, Simeone is the highest-paid coach in the world, even in the competition of Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, and Pep Guardiola. For that amount of money, Atletico Madrid should be contending for the title each year, not grabbing one title when both Real Madrid and Barcelona are having an off-year, and then fizzling out by the midway point of next season out of the title race completely. Simeone is a great manager, but in modern football, each coaching job has a stopwatch next to it. It just feels like Simeone's reached all zeroes.
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