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- Augusto Fernandéz cleared to play
The club has announced that midfielder Augusto Fernandéz has received the all clear from the medical staff to resume training and game action. The player suffered a hamstring injury while on international duty with Argentina and sat out for the past month; he has yet to feature this season. Appropriately, due to the current international window, he now has a few extra training sessions to return to fitness before league play resumes.
- Simeone takes firm stance with incoming stars
It is no secret that Atlético Madrid’s current squad is a competitive one, with players such as Filipe Luís recently discussing how difficult it is to make the starting XI. Now the manager has made it clear that incoming stars Vitolo and Diego Costa should not expect to walk right into a starting spot.
“Costa and Vitolo [will find] it tough to get into the team,” Simeone said during his El Larguero interview Monday. “I look at who we have at the moment. They will have to work to earn their places.”
This is just smart coaching all around. It sends a message to the current players that they won’t be brushed aside if they continue to work and produce. Meanwhile, it signals to the incoming players—especially Costa, who will not be getting any match time between now and January—that they must come in prepared to compete.
So far Simeone’s men have been willing to buy into the challenge, and hopefully incoming transfers will be just as eager.
- Rumor: Atlético have placed a bid for Yusuf Yazici
According to talkSPORT, Atlético have put in a £12.4 million offer for Turkish midfielder Yusuf Yazici. The 20-year old currently plays for Süper Lig club Tranzonspor and was a product of their academy.
It is unclear from the report what the source of this information is, but Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan and Monaco are also reportedly “interested” in the player’s services. This could be a matter of the selling club looking to drum up interest, as it seems unlikely that Atlético would be splashing more money around, so soon after their record transfer for Costa.