Team Focus: Atletico Sufficiently Replacing Outgoing Attackers

Atletico Madrid’s attack looks all but set to undergo another revamp, 12 months after Diego Simeone tinkered with his frontline. Diego Costa’s big money move to Chelsea saw them secure the services of Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann from Bayern Munich and Real Sociedad respectively, to cover the loss of the Brazil-born Spaniard. Manduzkic’s move to Juventus, though, means Simeone is likely to completely alter his strike force for the second successive summer. 

Griezmann is also being strongly linked with a move away from the Estadio Vicente Calderon, though the Atletico boss has countermeasures in place to cover the departure of the striking duo should the Frenchman follow Mandzukic away from the Spanish capital. Jackson Martínez and Luciano Vietto, of FC Porto and Villarreal respectively, are the men earmarked as replacements as Los Rojiblancos prepare to wrestle La Liga's crown away from Barcelona. 

Both are seemingly like-for-like successors for last season's duo, which suggests Simeone is keen on utilising a similar system for the upcoming campaign and, given its previous success, for good reason. It’s expected that, provided Atletico can stave off reported interest from Arsenal, Martínez will fill the void of the departing Mandzukic. The Colombian, though under-appreciated at the Copa America, remains one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe having impressed for Porto since signing in 2012. 

67 goals in 90 league appearances is an exceptional return for the 28-year-old and one that has attracted interest from the biggest teams on the continent. There were concerns, though, that he would not be able to translate his performances in the so-called "bigger leagues". With all due respect to Primeira Liga aficionados, outside of the established title-challenging trio of Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, the quality is perhaps not as high as in Europe’s leading leagues. 

Nevertheless, any fears that Martínez could not match his league exploits on a grander stage were quickly dispatched after a series of fine performances in the Champions League last term. The Colombia international netted 7 goals in 8 appearances in Europe’s elite competition to help earn a WhoScored rating of 7.54, which ranked among the top 30 players in the Champions League. 6 goals in his previous 19 outings in European competition may not have convinced, but the experienced striker now appears to have established himself among Europe’s best frontmen. 

A conversion rate of 26.9% was a commendable return for the striker, though it’s worth noting that Mandzukic, the player he is expected to replace, had a better figure in Europe (35.7%), albeit having netted two fewer goals (5). As someone to spearhead the attack, though, there are few better than Martínez within Atletico’s grasp. An average of 0.4 key passes and 0.6 successful dribbles per Champions League game was also better than Mandzukic (0.1 and 0.4, respectively) and it’s fair to say the Colombian is a more well-rounded striker than his Croatian counterpart. 

Martínez won’t provide a similar tenacity to that shown by Costa and Mandzukic, but an average of 2 fouls per game in Europe’s top competition certainly won't have perturbed Simeone, who is clearly a fan of his fiery attackers with a similar level of passion for the game as he had. While Martínez can be viewed as Mandzukic’s replacement, Vietto can be seen as the man to succeed Griezmann should he leave the Spanish capital. While no deal has been completed that would see Griezmann depart the Calderon, the France international is high on the wishlist of a number of teams across Europe.

In Vietto, though, Simeone has at his disposal an encouraging replacement. The Argentine enjoyed a prolific breakthrough year for Villarreal after joining from Buenos Aires-based side Racing Club last summer. 12 goals and 2 assists was an impressive return for a youngster in his debut year in one of Europe’s top 5 leagues, with his average of a goal every 157.8 minutes in La Liga last season one of the strongest returns. The chance to ply his trade in the Champions League was also one that the 21-year-old could not turn down. 

His European experience should also help him adjust to his new surroundings with relative ease. Only Andriy Yarmolenko (11) was directly involved in more goals in last season’s Europa League than Vietto (10). Such a return was commendable given it was his debut campaign in European club competition and the hope now is that he can perform to his best among Europe's elite. 

An average of 2.4 shots per league game is comparable to Griezmann (2.1), as is the average number of successful dribbles (1 to Griezmann’s 0.8) and key passes (0.7 to the Frenchman’s 0.6). While Vietto failed to net as many goals in La Liga as Griezmann (22), Atletico’s offensive personnel means the young striker has the potential to build on last season's figures for his new team. 

An overhaul in attack is likely to set Atletico back as they look to return to the summit of Spain’s top tier. However, if Simeone can replace Mandzukic and Griezmann with Martínez and Vietto, the duo, together, could sufficiently cover the loss of the former pairing. It may take some time, but if the duo could quickly strike up an understanding in Simeone's favoured 4-4-2 formation, Atletico could rightly boast one of the better strike forces in Spain once more.

What do you make of Atletico Madrid's summer transfer movements so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below