If there are no sales, there will be no signings. That much has been made clear by Atletico Madrid this January. The potential exit of Angel Correa to Saudi Arabia would open up their options though.
Correa reportedly has a €60m contract offer from the Middle East, and is considering taking it this January, if the unnamed Saudi club can agree a deal with Atletico Madrid. Late on Thursday night it transpired that Los Rojiblancos were already considering fellow Argentine Thiago Almada as an alternative.
He might not be the only reinforcement though. Sporting Director Andrea Berta will aim to bring in a forward to replace Correa and a central midfielder, say Marca. A deeper central midfielder has long been a wish of Diego Simeone’s, following a lengthy pursuit of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer, which they could not get done due to finances. They do go on to detail that bringing in two players will not be easy, and may require some numbers magic from Berta.
Simeone has consistently used Axel Witsel as a central defender, seemingly trusting him more there than as a midfielder. It has left Koke Resurreccion and Pablo Barrios as the only alternative for that deeper position, and neither of them perhaps have the defensive instincts Simeone would prefer.
