Diego Simeone is “not concerned” by Atletico Madrid having a small squad going into the final stretch of the campaign.
Yannick Carrasco and Nicolas Gaitan both left for Dalian Yifang while Miguel Angel Moya, Luciano Vietto and Augusto Fernandez also left the club this month, with just Diego Costa and Vitolo arriving.
“I prefer to have a smaller squad, it’s something that does not concern me,” Simeone told reporters in a pre-match conference ahead of the clash with Leganes.
“We now have a small squad, but it is highly competitive and high on quality – those who are left with us will get a lot of minutes and that is good for all of them.
“I wish those players who have left us all the best, as they helped us and always gave everything they had for the team.
“It is tough for players to come here and become regulars, and in my time only a handful have…Jan Oblak, Stefan Savic, Sime Vrsaljko, Augusto, Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa.
“Correa said recently you need to have a strong mentality to play for this club because we compete against the best, we need to give more than 100%.”
