MADRID: Atletico Madrid's quiet summer transfer window will have had their fans in a nervous sweat after finishing fourth last season but anxiety will give way to renewed hope if the blockbuster signings of Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher go through.
The arrivals of Argentinian forward Alvarez from Manchester City and England midfielder Gallagher from Chelsea would take Atletico's spending to around 200 million euros ($218 million) following deals for Spain defender Robin Le Normand and last season's LaLiga top-scorer Alexander Sorloth.
Those aggressive moves are set to inject new energy into Diego Simeone's decade-long project that looked desperately in need of a breath of fresh air after two trophyless seasons.
A distant fourth in LaLiga, Atletico were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Borussia Dortmund in heartbreaking fashion.
However, on a positive note, Atletico handed Spanish and European champions Real Madrid their only two defeats in all competitions in the 2023-24 campaign.
While Spanish striker Alvaro Morata moved to AC Milan last month, Simeone should have much more firepower at his disposal this season.
Versatile forward Alvarez was one of City's standout players from their Premier League title-winning campaign while powerful Norwegian striker Sorloth scored 23 goals for Villarreal in LaLiga last season.
"(Sorloth) characteristics are quite similar to Morata's, a true inside the box striker, a finisher and we want to help him in the same way we did with Alvaro (Morata) to be an attacking reference and hopefully score as many goals as he did last season," Simeone told a press conference last week.
Sorloth and Alvarez will join forces with France forward Antoine Griezmann and rising Brazilian star Samuel Lino, with the future of struggling Portugal forward Joao Felix still a major question mark.
Back from a lacklustre year-long loan at Barcelona, the 24-year-old Portuguese has been a major disappointment since signing for a club-record 126 million euros from Benfica five years ago.
Gallagher, who captained Chelsea last season under Mauricio Pochettino, is already training with his new teammates in Madrid and the 24-year-old is expected to pen a five-year deal.
Gallagher will become only the second Englishman to play for Atletico after Kieran Trippier, who won the league under Simeone in the 2020-21 season. — REUTERS