There’s no rest for the weary! With the season finally coming to a close, it’s time to look forward on how Atalanta can capitalize on their immense 2019-2020 success. In a condensed transfer window Serie A as a whole has little time to prepare for a late September start. Although the season has barely ended, so much has already happened in La Dea’s camp.
Lennart Cyzborra is already on the way out to Cagliari on loan (with an obligation to buy), Adrien Tameze was shipped back to Nice, Hans Hateboer wants out, and similarly Timothy Castagne and Robin Gosens may also be following him. To offset the departures Atalanta has already been busy trying to fill the vacant holes. A deal has all but been finalized for Standard Liege’s fullback Mergim Vojvoda, there is also serious interest in Lokomotiv’s Aleksey Miranchuk, and there have also been rumblings that deals could eventually be struck for Marseille’s Florian Thauvin, and the Juve/Genoa loan combo Mattia Perin and Cristian Romero.
The greatest part and worst part about the transfer window is the freedom to dream big, and think who would fit your squad and the wheelings and dealings necessary to make it happen. Some teams and fans (cough, Juve) take it too far and attach themselves to every name on the face of the planet, but it is all in good fun if it’s kept reasonable and enjoyable. So with that being said, I’ll take a look at each position and choose one player that I’d love to see La Dea target, within reason. He can’t be worth more than $20M on Transfermarkt.com, and must be under 27 to add a bit of youth to the squad, thus eligible for a classic Atalanta value build up and future sale.
Goalkeeper
Juan Musso, 26, Udinese, $13.2M- No Serie A goalkeeper impressed me more this year than Musso. He was solely responsible for Atalanta not putting away 7 or 8 goals in their 2nd meeting, and always demonstrated amazing shot stopping ability in the games I saw him play. Somehow River Plate’s Armani still stands in his way as Argentina’s starting keeper, but it only seems a matter of time that Musso makes that post his. A move to a larger club seems inevitable at some point, with Goal.com even mentioning Atleti being interested, but I would be thrilled if La Dea could swoop in before the big boys and cement the Argentine.
Centerback
Eder Balanta, 27, Club Brugge, $5.3M- Besides his name just being perfect for Atalanta, he fits that sweet spot of not being a classic centerback nor a classic defensive midfielder needed to thrive in Gasperini’s back three. Built like a small tank, he absolutely plays like it, throwing himself into tackles, pestering offensive foes, but also showing the footwork needed to distribute the ball out of the back. The Belgian league has been kind to Atalanta lately with Castagne, Malinovskyi, and hopefully Vojvoda all being victories, and I would love to see the big Colombian come to Bergamo to team up with compatriots Zapata and Muriel.
Wingback
Joakim Maehle, 23, KRC Genk, $8.8M- Back to the Belgian League again, La Dea were already linked to the Dane back before the league returned from the COVID break. Being the most demanding position in Gasperini’s system, you need a guy that can run for miles and not complain, and Maehle seems to be that guy. While we already have Vojvoda in the mix, we still need depth on the wings, and he’d be a perfect Hateboer replacement, should Hans eventually move on to “greener pastures.” With Genk recently signing Daniel Munoz as a rightback, its probably likely that Maehle is on the way out, let’s just hope its our way and not elsewhere (Burnley and Southhampton were rumors at one time, but seem pretty cold).
Midfield
Omar Mascarell, 27, Schalke, $12.1M- Honestly this was the hardest one for me to figure out. Midfielders can have such a variety of roles on the pitch, that it can be really challenging to find one that would fit in the Atalanta system. Mascarell may be a little too defensive minded, but he’s never afraid to throw himself into tackles and is well composed in the middle of the pitch, which is ideal in a frantic system that relies on calmness in the middle. While he’s Schalke’s captain, nothing great is happening there right now, and who knows? maybe Champion’s League football is perfect fodder to lure him away.
Attacking Midfield
Aleksey Miranchuk, 24, Lokomotiv Moscow, $19.8M- It may be a cop out since Atalanta is already very interested in him, but after watching video on him I’m sold. He’s literally an Ilicic-lite on offense, plus he’ll track back and actually do his work on defense (maybe we can convince Hans to stay if his flank partner plays some defense!) In a world where we may have to live without Ilicic eventually, being prepared with as close to a clone as the King of Slovenia as may be possible almost seems to good to be true. Let’s make this one happen!
Center Forward
Santos Borre, 24, River Plate, $11M- How could I not go with another Colombian leading the line!? With several good options to choose from including Morelos, the other Luis Suarez, and Cucho Hernandez, I opted for the one tearing up Argentina with Borre. I’ve only seen him play once in my life in a Colombian friendly, but the man does not stop running. He’d be perfect to apply the press up front, and wreak havoc on poor ball playing defenders. And of course let’s not forget that he can score too. In last year’s Copa Libertadores final he netted River’s only goal that nearly took them to the promise land before Flamengo scored 2 in the final minutes (sound familiar….too soon).
These are of course just my suggestions, and purely a fun thought experiment. I trust in Atalanta’s scouting much more than my ability to type words into a google search on my laptop, but hey I think this still seems like a strong list, and is definitely filled with guys who could mesh right in with Gasperini’s system. And that is always the hardest thing, finding guys that fit the system. It’s probably why Atalanta players always falter after moves to bigger clubs, or why Gasperini is quick to ship off guys who aren’t working (just look at Kjaer, Tameze, and Cyzborra this year). When you’ve got a plan, you’ve gotta be disciplined in not faltering from it, and finding guys who fit it. Even if that guy is playing in Bulgaria or Switzerland, if he fits the system, hecan play for Atalanta. Now let’s see if Gasp and company take any of my internet ramblings to heart, and take the transfer market by storm! After this season, it’s evident we need to depth, and with more Champion’s League money coming, we’ve got the cash to spend!
