There was surprise in the Atletico Madrid line-up for Saturday’s match against Athletic Club, as Caglar Soyuncu was named as a starter for the very first time this season. The 27-year-old defender has struggled since joining from Leicester City during the summer, but the game at San Mames was a chance for him to kick-start his career at Los Rojiblancos.
However, that failed to be the case. Soyuncu struggled during the first half, and conceded a penalty for a naïve challenge on Nico Williams – Oihan Sancet missed it, but Atleti would still go on to lose 2-0 courtesy of second half goals from Gorka Guruzeta and Williams.
Soyuncu was substituted at half time in favour of Jose Maria Gimenez, and it certainly appears that he failed his first big chance to impress head coach Diego Simeone. In the long run, it could have an effect, as Diario AS note that clubs in Türkiye are pushing to sign him on loan in January.
At this stage, Simeone wants to keep Soyuncu at Atletico Madrid for the second half of the season, but after Saturday’s performance, that could change, especially since there are already plenty of centre-back options at the club.
