Five to buy, five to sell for Atletico Madrid as Diego Simeone eyes Real Madrid, Barcelona title challenge

Diego Simeone has worked wonders at Atletico Madrid since returning to the club he once played for as manager in 2011. The Argentine has developed a strong, siege mentality that has seen the club develop into a force in Spanish and European football, challenging neighbours Real Madrid and Barcelona and even toppling them on a couple of occasions.

They became the first team outside the ‘big two’ to win La Liga in a decade in 2014 and reached the Champions League final the same year, only to be beaten by Real. They then repeated the achievement in 2021, but haven’t got near since.

We’ve drawn up a list of five players Atleti should sell and five they should buy in order to compete again next season.

Sell – Memphis Depay

Dutchman Memphis Depay’s career has seen him play for some huge clubs in European football, including Manchester United and Barcelona. But there has always been a sense of unfulfilled potential around him.

That has been the story at the Wanda Metropolitano, too. Depay, 30, has struggled to break into Simeone’s first team on a regular basis since joining in January 2023 from the Catalan giants. It is hard to say he’s not justified his €4m fee, but with just nine goals in 28 La Liga games since, he has not been able to usurp more regular starters Alvaro Morata and Antonine Griezmann.

Depay would almost certainly yield a profit for Atletico, even if it is a modest one. His contract has a year to run and it is unlikely he will be offered another, so a summer departure is the most likely and sensible outcome for all parties.

Sell – Axel Witsel

The 35-year-old Belgian has enjoyed something of a late career renaissance under Simeone, having joined from Borussia Dortmund two years ago. He is a regular in the Atleti team, too, having played 30 La Liga games so far this season. But at such a late point in his career, there needs to be a succession plan put in place; his passing range and guile will be hard to replace, but if Simeone wants to reinvigorate his squad, he needs to be ruthless with the likes of Witsel.

Performing so well for clubs like Dortmund and Atleti has restored balance to his career. Having emerged on the big stage at Benfica, he has long been heralded as one of Europe’s best in his position – despite playing a deeper role as he got older – he spent years in Russia and China with Zenit St Petersburg and Tianjin Quanjian when he was heavily linked with a Premier League.

Returning to Standard Liege in his homeland, where it all began, would be a nice way to bring his career full circle.

Sell – Joao Felix

The transfer of Joao Felix to Atlético Madrid has to be among the worst in history. It has nothing to do with the forward’s ability, which has never been in question since his emergence at Benfica, but rather the money paid in the summer of 2019 – €126m – and the unhappy nature of time in the Spanish capital.

Felix has clashed with Simeone at times but the main issue is a clash of styles. He is a rather elegant, technical forward whose game is based on movement, whereas Atletico have always preferred more rugged forwards. So far, he has 25 goals in 96 La Liga games for Los Rojiblancos since joining as a replacement for Barcelona-bound Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman has since returned to the club and Felix has been loaned out to Chelsea and Barca with minimal success.

It is best all round if everyone cuts their losses.

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Sell – Stefan Savic

Stefan Savic finds himself in a similar situation to Witsel. He has been a fine servant to Atletico Madrid but if the club are to move into a new phase, he is the kind of player they must leave behind. The 33-year-old moved to Spain in 2015 from Fiorentina, and has played 216 times in La Liga since, struggling to nail down a regular spot in the side. He has played over 30 times in a league season just twice since joining, and the harsh reality is Atleti will survive without him.

His win at all costs mentality has really endeared him to fans and Simeone too, rather unsurprisingly. But with just 20 matches played this season and him not getting any younger, now might be the time to sell. With his contract up in 2025, this summer also represents the final opportunity to recoup any fee for him.

Sell – Mario Hermoso

Another key exit as part of what could be a rather sizeable defensive restructure is likely to be Mario Hermoso. The 28-year-old began his career across the city at Real Madrid and joined Atleti from Espanyol five years ago, but like Savic, Hermoso has struggled to become anything other than a squad player.

Unfortunately for Simeone, Hermoso probably represents the best opportunity for value of the options on this list given his age and the number of clubs interested, most notably Aston Villa, but he is out of contract in June and will be allowed to leave on a free transfer.

It is not for want of trying but Atleti have failed so far to agree terms on a new deal, with the report of Villa’s interest stating he wants £4.3m net per season, and his agent has said they are ‘far away’ from a compromise.

Buy – Jean-Clair Todibo

If defenders leave, defenders will need to join. Especially for Atleti, for whom their back line has been the bedrock under Simeone. One interesting recent link has been that of Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo, who has played for Barcelona and was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, most notably Manchester United, whose football operations are being ran by Nice’s owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Signing the 24-year-old would allow for a progression in defence under Simeone. He has evolved the team to be more comfortable in possession, playing a slightly higher line while maintaining their core principles. Todibo, though, is a different type of defender to the typical Atleti player; he’s strong, quick and good on the ball, and likes to play short into midfield.

He’s not averse to a foot race against a striker into space behind him, so it would be interesting to see what would happen if these contrasting styles were to meet.

Buy – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

A dogged holding midfielder like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg certainly fits the mould of Atleti and would make sense on paper. Links with the club have been commonplace for some time and have only increased while the 28-year-old has featured less for Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou. Hojbjerg’s diminishing impact on the team at Spurs has directly correlated with their changing philosophy.

Hojbjerg may have featured in the Premier League 31 times this season, but most of those games have been from the bench. He has only started five times this season, and has played fewer than 10 minutes in five of the last eight games. By contrast, he was a regular under both Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

According to reports, talks were held over a move to Madrid last summer, and they could very easily reconvene at the end of the season.

Buy – Santiago Gimenez

Few clubs can boast a list of strikers who played for them like Atleti, with the likes of Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao and Diego Costa among their alumni. Although Alvaro Morata has scored one in two in La Liga and the Champions League this season (19 goals in 38 games) it is likely they will be looking to sign another forward in the summer.

One player who has been linked recently is Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez. The Argentina-born Mexico striker has been in Holland for two seasons and has proven himself in both, scoring 36 goals in 51 league games. He may be looking for a move this summer, and although stepping up from the Eredivisie is far from always guaranteed, the 24-year-old looks primed to succeed. At 5’11, this mobile front man is perfect for Simeone to mould and could be the latest in a long line of prolific Atleti goalscorers.

Buy – Piero Hincapie

Everyone who played regularly for Bayer Leverkusen this season will see their value rise this summer after their historic Bundesliga title win. Piero Hincapie is no different.

In terms of style, the Ecuadorian 22-year-old would suit Atleti more than Todibo. He is more aggressive and prefers to get tight to his man and in that sense would slot in nicely alongside the experienced Jose Gimenez.

His adaptability is something that should be noted, too. While capable of playing in a back four, this season he has thrived in Xabi Alonso’s back three. With his contract having two years to run, there could be a crossroads approaching over his next move.

Buy – Pedro Neto

There aren’t many more exciting wingers currently playing in the Premier League than Wolves’ Pedro Neto. The Portuguese winger, 24, is pacy and direct as well as adept at pressing from the front. He would certainly add a new dimension to Atleti’s attacking play, and be something of a departure from Diego Simeone’s usual choice of wide forward.

Wolves would be hard sellers, though, and the player is contracted to Molineux until 2027. He also has a history with injuries, and hasn’t managed to play more than 20 league games in the last three seasons. Should he stay fit, though, he’d be worth the obvious gamble.

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