Atletico Madrid were in desperate need of an option at right-back after Kieran Trippier’s exit to Newcastle United in January and when things get desperate, rash decisions can be made.
That appears to be the case with Daniel Wass. The Danish utility player was signed in January from Valencia for €2.7m in the hope he could cover the position for six months.
However in his first game with Atleti, a 4-2 defeat away to Barcelona, Wass picked up a muscle injury. Los Colchoneros had used all of their substitutes and despite Wass indicating he couldn’t go on, Diego Simeone forced him to continue. After six weeks Wass returned to training but did not appear beyond the 45 minutes at Camp Nou.
Superdeporte have carried a report from Matteo Moretto which states that Atleti are considering allowing Wass to leave for free this summer. The main interested party would be boyhood Danish club Brondby.
If that were to play out, it would come at a pretty price. Each minute of football Wass played would then work out as €60,000, without including the cost of his wages.
It raises questions about Atletico Madrid’s transfer strategy, if Simeone was not keen to use Wass beyond this summer. The 33-year-old’s contribution could perhaps have been covered by a loan signing if Wass was not seen as an option for next season.
