It is an amazing summer for Atletico Madrid as they almost have a brand new team squad now compared with last season.
We will not waste much time on the financial part, because with respect to explanations it is already known that friends do not need them, enemies do not believe them, and stupid people do not understand them.
We will hardly insist that if you spend 300 million euros but you earn more than 300m euros you still get a positive figure and that, in case of mediating three unilateral release clauses at the modest prices of 120m euros (at the moment), 80m euros and 70m euros, any of Los Rojiblancos' rivals would have made more signings than those who have already arrived.
Let's talk football then: to have the best squad in their history now, Diego Simeone has lost from a squad that was already extremely short (and was hit by injuries) his best forward, his midfield's lighthouse and a complete defensive line.
So, before throwing praise or turning the dream of a summer night into dogma (*ahem* the 7-3 win against Real Madrid *ahem*), we will have to see how the team pans out on the pitch:
-If Kieran Trippier makes people forget Juanfran, one of the best right-backs in Los Rojiblancos' history.
-If Renan Lodi makes people forget Filipe Luis, one of the best left-backs in Los Rojiblancos' history.
-If Felipe Monteiro and Mario Hermoso (how good that sounds) make people forget Diego Godin, one of the best centre-backs in Los Rojiblancos' history (as long as the coach doesn't want to give Jose Gimenez or Stefan Savic that role).
-If Joao Felix makes people forget Griezmann, one of the best players in the world.
-If Marcos Llorente makes people forget Rodri, who could have been but will not be at Los Rojiblancos.
-If there is reasonable doubt after what we have seen in pre-season as we must see it in competitive matches now.
You can see from here that Atleti had (and continues to have until proven otherwise) a serious problem in terms of creativity in midfield.
It will not be Thomas Partey or Saul Niguez who solve it, beyond the virtues that both treasure, so Koke's position is another variable to study. For now, it looks like he will be placed on the wing.