Atletico Madrid are well underway with their preseason preparations, having returned to Madrid from their traditional camp in Segovia.
Los Rojiblancos have been distracted by the ongoing transfer drama with Joao Felix, but Diego Simeone is already sketching out his plans for the new season. On Tuesday, Memphis Depay upped his workload as he began to take part in more group work with the team. The Dutch forward is still recovering from muscle problems that kept him laid low in the final stages of last season.
Meanwhile Diario AS say that Marcos Llorente and Yannick Carrasco continue to work alone, with light muscle problems. The former has now been out for a week though, while Pablo Barrios, who was injured at the same time, is now back in training.
So far Simeone has been using Alvaro Morata, heavily linked with a transfer to Serie A, and Angel Correa alonside Antoine Griezmann in attack. The Frenchman has a free role in the side, but there are question marks over his partner. Once Memphis is fully recovered though, Simeone plans to use him as the regular forward alongside Griezmann. Notably, Felix was not even mentioned as an option.
Certainly Memphis and Griezmann are the most versatile options available to Simeone. Generally the former has operated best with a number nine to play off himself, but can lead the line effectively too. There were flashes that suggested a connection between Memphis and Griezmann last season, and of the three options to partner the Frenchman, Memphis is the best finisher.
