Atlético de Madrid 's transfer market was completely frenetic in terms of arrivals and departures. A large number of players left the club and many others joined the dynamic in one of the most important revolutions of recent years. All of this with the aim of forming a much more competitive squad than in recent years, where Diego Pablo Simeone 's team had problems competing for titles.
Robin Le Normand, Alexander Sorloth, Julián Alvarez, Conor Gallagher, Clément Lenglet and Juan Musso were the Argentine's new signings. Each of them will have a very important role this season and, as soon as they finish adapting, they are expected to be difference-making players . However, until the last moment, Atlético de Madrid was close to adding another name to its list of signings.
Bennacer, the name of the last day
According to several Italian media outlets, Ismael Bennacer has appeared on the Atlético de Madrid agenda to reinforce the midfield following the rapid departure of Arthur Vermeeren to Leipzig . An operation that seemed to be complicated, but that could happen if all the circumstances were given throughout the day. In fact, "Sky", an Italian television channel, claims that there were contacts by Atlético de Madrid and Olympique de Marseille for Bennacer .
However, there was a problem that prevented the player from leaving AC Milan for France or Spain . According to this channel, neither of the two teams could guarantee to pay the player's full salary, thus forcing ACMilan to have to contribute a certain amount. In addition, this operation would be convenient to loan the player, something that San Siro did not see as viable, since, if Ismael Bennacer left this summer, it would have to be through a full transfer.
Simeone, without his reinforcement in the center
In this way, only Connor Gallagher was able to increase Diego Pablo Simeone 's squad during the summer. All this in a transfer window where Arthur Vermeeren and Saúl Ñíguez left, and with a Thomas Lemar in cotton wool who seems to never recover from his injury. Something that, a priori, leaves a negative balance in terms of effects for the Argentine coach in the midfield.
Something that he will suffer from next Sunday, as Pablo Barrios will be out for approximately a month and will not be able to count on his services. Without the Spaniard or the Frenchman, Cholo will only have Koke, Rodrigo de Paul, Gallagher and, perhaps, Marcos Llorenté , in the middle, having to draw on the youth team in an emergency. If Bennacer had arrived, perhaps the problem would not be so serious, but in the end everything was left as a slight "flirting" without signing any type of contract.