Atletico Madrid shortlist to improve midfield contains three key targets | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid are set for an ‘important transfer window’ this summer in the words of manager Diego Simeone, and one of the key areas to improve remains in midfield. Los Rojiblancos have been linked to several midfielders in recent months, and are still keen to move for one of them.

With the likes of Thomas Lemar and Saul Niguez unsure of their future, there is likely to be space opening up in the midfield for Simeone to strengthen, albeit with Marcos Llorente, Koke Resurreccion and Rodrigo de Paul as current starting options, and the likes of Pablo Barrios and Arthur Vermeeren coming through.

As per Matteo Moretto on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, Atletico have a shortlist of midfielders they are keen on, including Mats Wieffer, who they contacted in January, Celtic’s Matt O’Riley, who they made a bid for late in the winter window, and Mikel Merino, who is currently locked in talks with Real Sociedad over a new deal. He has just a year left on his contract as of this summer. Atletico are yet to move definitively for any of the three though, and there is no favourite to come in either.

It’s been an inconsistent season for Atletico’s midfield, showing on occasion that they can compete with the likes of Real Madrid, but on others collapsing away from home, and ultimately playing a role in their frustrating final months of the season.

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