“Julian’s characteristics are close to Atlético’s DNA”
MADRID, 18 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Atlético de Madrid manager Diego Pablo Simeone reiterated this Sunday in the press conference prior to the clash against Villarreal, on the first day of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25, that he needs additions to complete the squad and to be able to imagine what they can fight for in this new campaign, although he celebrated the momentum generated by the three current reinforcements; Sorloth, Le Normand and Julián Álvarez.
“We are working well, in terms of the incorporation of the three players who have arrived. It is also true that seven, possibly eight, have left, and obviously we still need to finish finalising the squad to be able to imagine what we need,” he said at a press conference.
Simeone says that they are working “with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement” but that they still need to strengthen their squad. “There are still days to go before the signings are finalised, we understand that they are working to finalise the squad in the way that we have to, it is not yet finalised. In that area we obviously know clearly what we are looking for and what we want. Once they can arrive, we will start to look at everything else that appears, but starting with having the people that we need to have,” he reiterated.
And one option for a signing could be a left-footed centre-back to replace Mario Hermoso. “It’s true that no other player has come in after Mario left, he’s one of the options and well… The club and I have been working very well for a month and a half and I expect to finish in the best way. I won’t be repetitive, but we haven’t finalised the squad yet. After not finalising the squad we need to focus on tomorrow’s game, watching game by game how the team grows,” he added.
That’s why he is aware of the “difficulties” of facing Villarreal now. “It’s always a complex, difficult match. We’ll have to play the game where we think we can hurt them. And well, we’ll see little by little how the team is feeling. I think it’s an important transition for many players who have given the club a lot of things. We start tomorrow with many young players who are starting to find another place,” he said.
“We aspire to continue competing game by game as we have always done, we are not going to change. Barcelona still has a very important team, Madrid continues to grow with players who are phenomenal and it is clear that we have to think about ourselves. Bilbao (Athletic Club) is growing, Real Sociedad is growing, Villarreal will surely compete and well, I understand that we will have an important season in general,” said the ‘colchonero’ coach.
In this sense, he believes that Kylian Mbappé’s Real Madrid is still the favourite to repeat the league title. “In principle, Real Madrid is the best team of the season and well, they will have to prove it with all the wonderful players they have and all the rest of us will be behind, surely to compete against the team that at the moment seems to be one of the best,” he said.
But he has faith in his team and celebrated, above all, the arrival of his compatriot Julián Álvarez. “It was all very sudden, everything very fast. He arrived a little while ago, I think he has been training for four times, I don’t think more. He is adapting, he has played in the Olympic Games and the Copa América, he has had little rest… But well, the way he has been on holiday these last ten days have not been a pure holiday either, because he was worried about whether he would leave City or stay with us. The talks don’t let you fully relax, but I see him well, with a lot of enthusiasm, with a lot of hope and knowing where he is coming from, understanding where he is,” he said.
“All of Julián’s characteristics are close to Atlético de Madrid’s DNA, so we are all looking forward to his good performance. This is not a responsibility, but obviously he has earned an important place and hopefully we can form a team as a group so that his characteristics help us,” he added.
He also had positive words for João Félix, who has returned from his loan spells, the last one to FC Barcelona. “He’s doing very well, as you can see. The truth is that his behaviour is what any footballer who is part of a squad needs to have, with commitment and training in the best way, ready for everything that is proposed to him. From that point on, he competes with other teammates and obviously the game will lead us to interpret it as to whether we can use him tomorrow or not,” he commented.