Atletico Madrid replace one world class forward with another, again

Atletico have done it yet again, replaced one top quality striker with another and this time around the player comes in the form of David Villa. The transfer fee is miniscule for a player of such magnitude, only €2m and rising to €5.1m if he stays for 3 seasons.

Although he is 31 and not necessarily going to be fit for a full season and be able to play full games for the next 3 seasons he is the Spanish national teams top scorer at 31, with 56 goals in 91 games, a pretty astonishing record for someone who could still yet add another 10-15 goals to that tally. For Valencia his goal record was phenomenal, he scored 20+ goals for five seasons running and then at Barcelona managed a very respectable 48 goals in 116 games. At the Catalan club most of these goals were scored from the left flank where he operated brilliantly, if it hadn’t have been for the unbelievable Lionel Messi then I imagine his record would have been nearly twice as good. Technically he is a wonderful footballer and has shown that he can adapt to different positions with consummate ease, winning the Champions League and La Liga in arguably one of the greatest teams of all time.

Looking at the money they received from the sale of a certain Radamel Falcao you would imagine they bring in another top player and most likely a striker or someone to operate behind David Villa because you aren’t guaranteed as many goals or a full 90 minutes each week from the aging Spaniard. What you can expect is wonderful link up play with the midfield, extremely deadly finishing and an extremely technically gifted player who at the end of these three seasons could have dropped deeper to occupy another big money centre forward.

Atletico have been through this process before and have handled it very well each time, including this particular instance. Diego Forlan, Sergio Agüero, Radamel Falcao, they are the cream of the crop of the Atletico forwards over the past 7 years, and although each may not come at the bargain price that David Villa comes at, it proves El Atleti certainly know how to spend their money wisely. The Vicente Calderon has seen an abundance of talent grace their pitches each year and with the arrival of a Spain legend it will pay host to yet more. Not discounting the possibility of another big signing it does pose the question, have Atletico done it again?