Atletico Madrid could scarcely have wished for a worse start to the season against Granada. After just five minutes, captain and midfield lynchpin went down with an injury and was forced off.
The game went well, with Los Colchoneros securing a 3-1 victory over Granada, including a sumptuous strike from Memphis Depay, and a strong performance from youngster Pablo Barrios, who came on for Koke.
In spite of his praise for Barrios, and the fact that Axel Witsel can also play as the deepest midfielder, Diego Simeone’s request for another player who can anchor the centre of the park only looks more urgent now. Koke is set to miss a month of action, but after missing a number of weeks last season too, Los Rojiblancos struggled without him.
Diario AS say that the first choice for the role, and seemingly the most likely with few other names mentioned these days, is Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. However until Atletico secure exits, they cannot afford to bring him in, leaving them somewhat stuck.
Joao Felix tops the list of players they would like to exit, but that looks as if it will not be resolved until late on in the transfer window. Yannick Carrasco has been suggested as another departure at various poins of the summer, as have Alvaro Morata, Thomas Lemar, Samuel Lino and Rodrigo Riquelme. Simeone would probably rather hang onto most of those players, but they may be forced to choose between strengthening that area and weakening another.
