Sime Vrsaljko joins Atletico on a five-year deal

Atletico Madrid have confirmed the signing of Croatian right-back Sime Vrsaljko on a five-year deal from Sassuolo in Italy’s Serie A.

The 24-year-old is taking a holiday at the moment and will report for duty with his new teammates in July having spent the month of June in France representing his country at Euro 2016.

They were eventually knocked out by Portugal and Vrsaljko played at both right and left back during the tournament, operating on the left against Spain where he came face-to-face with his new teammate, Juanfran, who was operating at right-back for his country.

"Playing in Atlético is a big challenge for me, I'm very happy," he said via the club’s official website.

For Jose Luis Pérez Caminero is excited by the signing of the Croation defender, stating, "Vrsaljko is a player with a huge projection, although he has already demonstrated his quality in a championship as competitive as the Italian Serie A. It perfectly fulfils our idea of incorporating players who increase the competition within the group and our team’s level. He is very versatile, since he can play in both sides, which offers us interesting alternatives.”