Ten Hag has to make up for the midfield again? According to Spain's Le Monde Sport, Atletico will run a deficit of 40 million euros next summer, and failing to reach the last 16 of the Champions League will also cost the La Liga powerhouse 30 million euros, in which case Simeone's team is likely to need to sell some players, including Marcos Llorente. Manchester United are currently interested in the Spanish midfielder, with Atletico asking for around €40 million (£35 million).
Barca have been firmly limited by salary caps this summer, and Atletico have done the same. According to statistics, Atletico's total salary in 2021 is as high as 174 million, which has become a heavy burden for Atletico. This summer, in order to register new signings such as Witsel, Atletico had to go on a massive clean-up of redundancies. And Griezmann's buyout also had to fight with Barca. If it weren't for the salary cap limit, Atletico would probably have won Ronaldo, whom Simeone admires so much, this summer.
Since the start of the new season, Atletico have a mediocre record, with 7 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats after 12 league games, and have fallen by as many as 11 points behind Real Madrid. In the Champions League, Atletico won 6 wins, 1 win, drew 2 and lost 3, finished at the bottom of the group and missed the Europa League. Such a dismal performance has made Atletico's finances even worse, and with the team's current performance, Atletico is likely to have a strong restructuring after the end of the season, whether Simeone is still in place. Therefore, it is not surprising that the media has reported rumours of Marcos Llorente's transfer.
And it is indeed possible that Manchester United will continue to seek reinforcements to the midfield next summer. This summer, Manchester United chased De Jong for more than three months and could not get it, although they finally won Casemiro, but Ten Hag is still obsessed with De Jong, and does not rule out the possibility of continuing to buy next summer. But the current variable is that De Jong is likely to continue to choose to stay at Barca.
We can see that De Jong has recently been reused by Xavi and has made consecutive league starts. And Xavi started trying to get De Jong to play on the left that he preferred, and Pedri to move to the right, which is a clear signal. In addition, Busquets will definitely leave after the end of the season, and if De Jong accepts a salary cut, then all obstacles to staying at Barca will be cleared, and it is logical that he will continue to stay in his dream land.
So, with the lessons of this summer, Ten Hag certainly won't hang from a tree for long. If Marcos Llorente enters the transfer market, United will certainly not ignore it.
Marcos Llorente's abilities are more well-rounded than De Jong's, proper hexagonal warrior. Despite his background at the back, Marcos Llorente is not a defensive midfielder in the traditional sense. He has stature, strength, speed and physical qualities that stand out among Spanish midfielders. At the same time, he has a relatively strong desire to attack, has good dribbling and possession ability, and the attack on the back plug can often bring great threats. In addition, Llorente has a strong running ability, and his defensive ability has also been improved under Simeone, and he is a top midfielder who is truly versatile in attack and defense.
As a result, Marcos Llorente is more anticipated by Manchester United fans than De Jong, who have said: "If Atletico releases Llorente for 40 million euros, the price will be a big profit." ”
Indeed, if United want to take De Jong, the transfer fee will surely be above 85 million euros, equivalent to two Marcos Llorente, but the Spanish midfielder's ability is not below De Jong. Marcos Llorente's current value is 40 million euros, and Atletico's asking price is completely the market price, which is definitely a conscientious businessman. But for Atletico fans, if Simeone lets go of the core of the team at that price, it will surely cause strong discontent.