With a relatively drab opening weekend of Serie A football now over, Atalanta still have a week to rest and preepare for their opening contest against Torino. A lot has already happened for La Dea, and some key signing have already been made to bolster a strong roster that only lost one real difference maker in Castagne. Still there are some question marks going into next week, and in an interesting thought experiment, are we exactly where we need to be to kick off the Serie A campaign with a bang? Let’s investigate…..
Goalkeeper and Defense
I would say quite a resounding yes. Gollini is probably out for a couple more weeks, but nothing that Sportiello can’t handle until the famed rapper returns from injury. On the defensive side, sliding in Romero is huge. While raw, Atalanta are able to six deep at the back. The defense consistently got burned in the Champion’s League last year, and a better rotation at the back will help keep everyone fresh.
Wingbacks
Still a question mark. Losing Castagne is a huge blow, considering his ability to play on both flanks. At least starters Hateboer and Gosens are sticking around (for the time being), and will handle the majority of minutes for Gasperini. Piccini is solid depth on the right, and even Sutalo is probably capable of playing the wing in a pinch. However, the concern still lies on the left side. Right now Arkadiusz Reca is back from his loan with SPAL, and I imagine is the defacto Gosens back-up. I’m not sure how well Gasperini rates Reca. Atalanta Twitter guru Atalanta BC News brought to my knowledge that Atalanta are interested in swapping Reca for PAOK’s Dimitris Giannoulis, who’s been fire in Champion’s League qualifying with a goal and two assists already. Knowing very little about both left wing backup options, I’d feel more comfortable with Dimitris going into the 2020 campaign, and would be great to see bring in another player (albeit qualifiers) with European experience.
Midfield
Biggest question mark. De Roon and Freuler are class, and have a fantastic working partnership. But again, what happens when one of them needs a breather? I think last year both Malinovksyi and Pasalic proved they are more comfortable in an advanced role, and both can easily get lost in the shuffle trying to perform the roles of a double pivot. Another year under the tutelage of Gasperini could change that, but I’d be much more comfortable with a third option that is more concerned with ball-winning. Perhaps Matteo Pessina is the answer, who is know back from his loan with Verona where he seemed to thrive and really up his game. Pessina did bag 7 goals last year for Juric and Verona, so even he may be more comfortable playing more advanced. Not keeping Tameze as an insurance policy may prove bothersome once the season is in full swing, but at least Gasperini has options to go with in the midfield two, and perhaps someone will take a step forward and surprise us (looking at you Pasalic!)…
Attacking Midfield
Quite comfortable… Perhaps an understatement, but with Gomez pulling the strings, and Ilicic coming back into the fold, it looks like the band is coming back together. Malinovskyi thrived in the absence of Ilicic at the end of the summer, and bringing in Miranchuk is just adding insult to injury. The only “issue” is that there isn’t a true backup to fill up the attacking right side in Papu’s absence, but I presume both Pasalic or Pessina could fill in comfortably in a pinch. Barrow could also, but that’s a different story…..
Striker
Comfortable… The Colombian assassins were one of the deadliest duos last year, even with Zapata missing double digit games. Muriel is a game changer coming off the bench, and an awesome change of pace from Duvan that teams were not able to cope with last year at times. Again as if Atalanta didn’t already have enough attacking options, bringing in Sam Lammers from PSV to either fill in at striker or as an attacking midfield provides attacking depth to offset the likely loss of Colley going on loan.
In conclusion, there have been some great depth signings so far, but at least one more move either on the wings or in the midfield would make me feel much more comfortable with our depth going into the campaign. Perhaps Gasp is ready to test some of the young guys like Da Riva who saw some minute last year, but a proven veteran who knows his job would still be a huge safety net for the myriad of things that could unfold during a season. The transfer window hasn’t closed yet, so maybe the brass still have something up their sleeve that will take us all by surprise…. Let’s wait and see after what’s already been a good and exciting transfer window!
