Atalanta progress

In the world of modern football, there is what people call a glass ceiling. It's well and good to be "well run" and play "progressive, attacking football", but at the end of the day the game is about winning. As I look at Atalanta and examine the squad situation, there's a looming crisis in summer of 2023 when 10 first team regulars are out of contract. The only potential issue this summer (2022) is whether they redeem the buy option for Demiral, and if not they'll have to find someone to fill in. Getting back to 2023. There are a few assumptions I'll make, one being that Gasperini is sticking around and the system will be consistent going forward. Another is that not all the players will be re-signed. I've grown to love the current team, obviously, but I'm realistic enough to know that many of the guys won't be around after next season. Personally, and I'll get into this in the article, I'd be moving guys on now or in the summer to avoid losing them for nothing.

One way to to this, and how I'll go about it, is to look at which players are tied down at least somewhat long-term and figure out which free agents to be to focus on renewing. For instance, Remo Freuler. He's in a position where the club has decent depth, with de Roon expiring in 2024 and all of Koopmeiners, Pasalic, and Pessina on the books until 2025. Right back is another, with Hans Hateboer on the list. Maehle can play either wing back spot, and to be fair so can Zappacosta, so Hateboer should be on the way out.

Center back and up front are where the problems lie. Ilicic is having issues outside of football again, and I only see him leaving. He's 34 next week anyway. Muriel and Zapata... for me, Duvan is the more important one, although Muriel puts up ridiculous numbers. Ideally, you'd keep both, but is that realistic? They're both 30 and would be somewhat naïve to not look for one last pay day before their careers are over. On the other end of the pitch, all of Djimsiti, Palomino, Toloi, and Scalvini are out of contract in '23. Scalvini is young and hasn't played much at first team level, so you'd expect to renew him unless a "bigger club" turns his head. Or if he's just not good enough for this level and needs a chance of scenery. In term of sell on value, Djimsiti would probably be highest given his age. Palomino has played the most minutes this season and is the only left footer, so I'd be looking to re-sign him.

Going through the rest of the squad, I'll explain what I'd do with each player, designating three categories. Starter, keep as squad player, and sell. In the starter category are Koopmeiners, Musso, Demiral (if he stays), and Maehle. I'm taking into account that I'd sell Freuler and go with Koopmeiners and De Roon as the midfield pairing. Boga just joined and I see him as either a winger in a 3 or a support striker in a 2, depending on how Gasperini sets up. He brings a dynamism (pace and dribbling) that nobody else on the team has, other than maybe Muriel, but he's more of a scorer than a dribbler these days. Pasalic, Malinovskyi, and Pessina seem to be a rotating cast as a #10 or a kind of free winger role. Pasalic is the consistent goal threat, Malina has a rocket of a left foot (good for set pieces and crosses), and Pessina links up play. If we're talking about replacing Ilicic, Malina is the best as a like-for-like.

There are some players on loan, so I'll mention them quickly. I may have mentioned Piccoli above, but if not, he's a young striker who's recently been loaned out to a poor Genoa side for the rest of this season. Another young striker is Sam Lammers, who I have a less positive outlook on given how he's been treated at the club. Both are more of the Zapata mold than Muriel. There are two CB's, Lovato and Sutalo, currently at Cagliari and Verona respectively. Neither has played that many minutes so far this season, which isn't great. Lovato (21) has better defensive metrics but Sutalo (22) appears to be better on the ball. The latter would appear to be a better fit to "replace" Toloi, if he goes. There are a couple LWB's out as well, Reca and Ruggeri. From what I've seen, Reca (26) is a mid to lower table player, and that's just what it is. Ruggeri (19) is really young and has only featured for Salernitana 4 times, at least in part due to injury, so I don't think you can expect him to be ready for a squad role next season. I'd loan him again, hopefully to a better Serie A team.

So, what does the team need?

I'm looking at a few positions, given the guys I see leaving (Freuler, one of Muriel/Zapata, Toloi, Gosens, and Hateboer). LWB is a certainty, as is CB and CF. I'd also look for one more defensive minded CM.

Left wing-back

The issue here is I wonder what type of LWB the club will look for. Do they want another Maehle type, who will cut in onto his stronger right foot from the left, or do they want to replace Gosens? I'll give a couple options for both. There's a guy at Lens who's similar to Maehle called Frankowski. Lens plays a similar system to Atalanta, so I don't think it would be too difficult for him to adjust. Another player in this mold already playing in Serie A is Ola Aina. The issue I see here is if you play Boga on the left, he'll want to cut inside onto his right, so you don't want the LWB doing the exact same thing. Hence why I'd prefer to replace Gosens with a natural left-footed width option. There are two guys in the Bundesliga I'll throw out there, one more defensive and one more attacking. The former is Roussillon from Wolfsburg. If you want a more reserved player out wide, this is one choice. He is 29, and I hear they pay high wages at that club, so a potentially cheaper and younger option is Mihailo Ristic from Montpellier. For a more attacking look, I love Borna Sosa, and Stuttgart are by no means safe from relegation this season (nor are Wolfsburg, but they have better players). With bigger forwards like Lammers and Piccoli, you'd think that would allow for some crossing, which is where Sosa excels. He only just turned 24 as well. For an older and less flashy version of Sosa, you can also find Christian Gunter in Germany, playing for Freiburg. I actually think the way Freiburg play, when Streich opts for the back 3, is quite similar to Atalanta. Only problem is Gunter is on the older side, as he'll be 29 next month.

Personally, I'd go with Sosa. He'll have better teams after him, compared to the others, but I don't see how he'd turn down a starting role at a club competing in Europe.

Center back

One option here is to rely on the current loan players and hope they can handle this level of football. I wouldn't do that, however. I'd keep one next term to let him play here and there, giving you four options, assuming you keep Djimsiti and Palomino (new contract or not) and redeem Demiral. Scalvini may or may not stay, given the contract situation, and he could benefit from a loan as well if Gasperini doesn't yet think he's ready. I have a few random guys, as that seems to be the way Atalanta find their CB's. Two are older and have expiring contracts, with one making more sense in my opinion than the other. One is Mbemba, currently at Porto. He'd pretty much be a body with experience to strengthen what's already there. The other is Romain Saiss (Wolves). He's left footed, so he could split time with Palomino on the left or middle of the back three. He's played in midfield, so he's a Gasperini type player in terms of being comfortable on the ball. There's always a mistake in him, however. The final player I'll mention, a new shout, is Jhon Lucumi from Genk. He'd have the Colombia connection with Muriel/Zapata and is also left footed. Genk have gone from a back four to a 3, so he should be comfortable in the system.

Striker

A player I could see thriving in this system is Oihan Sancet. He's tall, plays in a pressing system, has a striker's instinct at times, and originally played as a #10 so you know he can link play. It's basically what Duvan does, minus the pace and power, but probably more well rounded as a footballer. Plus, he's only 21. Of course, the main issue at play would be the reluctance to leave Athletic Club. Thus, we have some other options. A couple guys playing in France that I'm not super familiar with are Kalimuendo (Lens, on loan from PSG) and Ali-Cho (Angers). Both January birthdays, the former is 20 and the latter is 18. It would be a "take a punt on a potential superstar" situation. Another is Beto from Udinese, 23 and already familiar with the league. Not much to say about him, as he's done his talking on the pitch this season. Lastly I'll mention Ben Brereton Diaz. Main reason is he's out of contract in the summer and I think he could make the jump to a higher level than Blackburn in the Championship. To narrow down, I'll go with Beto or Brereton. Sancet is super unlikely, but would be smart, especially if his low release clause is accurate. I'd expect Kalimuendo to return to PSG or be sold for a high fee, not really an Atalanta thing. Same with Ali-Cho; I see a bidding war with the usual rich clubs.

Central midfield

Freuler is a key cog in the team. Ideally, you re-sign him. Make no mistake. However, if that doesn't happen, there are a few players I'd be looking at. Two in particular are Bruno Guimaraes (Lyon) and Djibril Sow (Frankfurt). The former is in high demand, and looking at where Lyon are in the table, I could see him going somewhere like Arsenal or Juventus. He'd bring the creativity needed to pair with a destroyer like de Roon, but also the defensive presence that the other guys at Atalanta lack. A more defensive minded player is Sow, a Swiss international like Freuler. Here's how I look at it. Sow would pair well with Koopmeiners and practically replace de Roon, while Bruno would pair best with de Roon, as he'd be given license to create and do his thing going forward. If, for instance, you were thinking of playing 3 CM's with one at the base, Sow is the better choice for that.

With all that said, here's how the squad would look after this.

CF: Muriel, Beto/Diaz, Lammers/Piccoli

AM/winger: Boga, Ilicic, Malinovskyi, Miranchuk

CM: Pasalic, Pessina, Sow

DM: de Roon, Koopmeiners

Wing back: Maehle, Pezzella, Sosa, Zappacosta

CB: Demiral, Djimsiti, Lucumi, Palomino, Sutalo, Lovato/Scalvini

GK: Musso, Gollini/Sportiello

I believe that's a similar level to what's currently taking the pitch in Bergamo, if not better. Boga is yet to play, so we'll see how he does. You replace one of the aging forwards with a guy with potential, sell the wing backs of the past and build for the future with Maehle and Sosa, keep Demiral and bring in a young defender to complement the other young guys as the old guard begins to depart. I'm not sure if this club can take the next step, but what it must do is avoid losing players for free, hence why I'd sell the guys who'd bring in decent cash.