There’s only a week left until the transfer window ends, and opposite of year’s past it has been a quiet window for Atalanta. The last several years have seen Atalanta very active in the January window. Whether it was bringing in new permanent signings like Joakim Maehle and Jeremie Boga, or throwing out a bunch of flyers hoping something would stick ala the winter of Bosko Sutalo, Lennart Cyzborra, Adrien Tameze, and others – it has been rare to see Atalanta so quiet on the market.
Granted there has been outbound movement, with Ruslan Malinovskyi completing a loan and option deal to Olympique Marseille. Additionally, Nadir Zortea has been loosely linked to other clubs, as has Berat Djimsiti to Monza; that’s really been it. The same inaction has been felt all over Italy, with few if any impact moves being completed. Perhaps the winter World Cup threw off club’s planning? Regardless just because moves haven’t happened yet, doesn’t mean they won’t, and Atalanta can legitimately ask the question: does the roster need some reinforcements?
Fortunately for La Dea, the renaissance of Jeremie Boga has squelched any murmurs about bolstering the attack. His ascent puts Atalanta in an enviable offensive position, as we have grown accustomed to. Now the offense is once again a deep strength of the club.
A similar thing can be said about the defense and the wingbacks. Recent staples in the starting XI Jose Luis Palomino and Matteo Ruggeri give Atalanta two more options that seemed improbable at the beginning of November.
Its debatable whether the strength on the wings and defense is acceptable for a Champion’s League push. Yet, the question I ask myself in response to this notion is: if the Atalanta offense is truly back to its earlier ways, do you want guys who know the system (Merih Demiral and Palomino) or a brand new project that has to get acclimated to Gasperini’s complex man-marking system?
The Principle Concern – Midfield Depth
Even the midfield doesn’t feel egregiously thin. The suspension of Teun Koopmeiners and his sorely missed absence is what ultimately led me to this question, but when both Koopmeiners and Marten de Roon are healthy, that’s as good a starting double pivot that the league can provide. Heck, Ederson as well has the chops to be a strong midfielder. Where his concern lies is the variance in performances that he’s capable of displaying. Against Juventus he was the weakest performer on the pitch and he has demonstrated in 2023 that he has still not fully acclimated in the system. He’s high risk high reward at this point in his career.
Personally for me, the one thing I want as a rotational central midfielder is someone who is not a liability. The player doesn’t need to be dynamic, just someone who can hold his own in the middle and ensure that his area does not get overrun. Even if Marten de Roon and his apparent clone are required to start in the middle simultaneously, the offense has enough firepower to still create on its own.
This isn’t to say I have soured on Ederson, but it feels far too risky to rely on him against squads capable of securing midfield dominance. Interestingly he was excellent in his first run against Napoli, but I don’t think I’d want to risk him against the Partenopei next time out, nor Inter, nor Milan, not even against Lazio.
Potential Considerations
The only problem with this thought exercise is Atalanta likely won’t be active to bring in an extra midfielder. The rumor mill, as stated above, has been quiet, and I wonder if there’s anyone available that can confidently deputize as a clear 3rd or 4th choice option.
Personally I’d want a player that prioritizes his defensive duties before looking to maraud forward. No one sticks out clearer in my mind in Serie A than Walace. Not Michael B. Jordan’s coming of age character on “The Wire,” but Udinese’s bruising central midfielder. Unfortunately, he’s a staple at Udinese and there’s little reason for the club to sell him given their astute transfer business.
But is there a player similar to Walace that Atalanta could seek out? Some sleuthing and a liberal game of connect the dots on FBref.com landed me on a very interesting player: Stijn Spierings.
Who? Yes exactly, I thought the same thing.
If you couldn’t guess by his name Stijn Spierings is a Dutchman, and a central midfielder currently playing in Ligue 1 for Toulouse. In typical Dutch fashion, he’s tall, a bit lanky, and an excellent passer for someone who’s meant to prioritize defense. Oh, and he’s an AZ Alkmaar youth product. The last time we splurged on a player from AZ it worked out quite well!
But what stands out most about Spierings isn’t necessarily him per say, but the club that signed him. Honestly, I know nothing about his game, but I do know that Toulouse after new ownership took over has taken the plunge into a heavy data driven approach to its recruitment. It won Toulouse immediate promotion after a season in Ligue 2, and now the French club is comfortably sitting 12th in the table. His work in the midfield has not gone unnoticed as he’s become a staple of his midfield playing 100% of Toulouse’s minutes this year. Read more about Toulouse here.
You probably know by now that I’m a sucker for a data driven approach to football, and there’s just too many dots being connected for me to not fall for this hook, line, and sinker. The chances are less than <1% that something like this would ever come to fruition. But the data driven process that brought him to France (from Bulgaria of all places – Hello Palomino!), the Walace comparison, the Dutch camaraderie in the midfield, plus the AZ connection; I’ll certainly root for this one. Plus if it provides a calm body in the midfield, where he can always be flanked by a teammate that speaks the same language, the learning curve will only be that much faster!
So while it is improbable that this, or any serious transfer may happen this winter, I hope you can join me in rooting for something like this to happen. We need the bodies in midfield, and keeping the midfield Dutch has brought us to great success this season. Let’s wait and see what goes down and if Lee Congerton is able to splash again on the transfer market!
