Atalanta brings in some much needed defensive depth with the return of Mattia Caldara to the Nerazzurri. An original Atalanta youth product, he seemed destined for defensive greatness, as he bounced around between titans Juventus and AC Milan. Injuries are never fun, and a ruptured achilles has seen him sidelined without meaningful playing time in 18 months. Worse yet AC Milan, they forked over 35M Euros to Juventus for the youngster AND gave up Bonucci in the process, only for Caldara to get injured and never suit up for Milan.
The deal is structured as an 18 month loan, with a 15M euro option to buy, and while it may seem like a big gamble on a player overcoming serious injury, it still seems logical. He knows Gasperini’s system, he’s familiar with the high intensity man marking strategy Atalanta employ, and perhaps most notably as a former youth product he has claimed he “won’t let Atalanta down.”
It will be interesting to see how Caldara is reintroduced back into the squad. Obviously without playing time under his belt, he shouldn’t be asked to do too much too quickly, especially when Djimsiti, Palomino, and Toloi have been meshing well this year. However, when you rely on three center-backs, you absolutely need the depth, and Gasperini seems very hesitant to rely on Masiello, and obviously did not trust Kjaer who has now been loaned off to AC Milan. It’s great to welcome back an Atalanta youth product into a starting lineup devoid of them, and let’s hope the injury bug does not hamper his success with the club.
