Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone heaped praise on his new signing Julián Álvarez and said he expects great things from the 24-year-old forward.
Álvarez joined Atlético from Manchester City in a deal reported to be worth around €75 million ($82.7m), and Simeone said he could available for Monday’s LaLiga opener at Villarreal.
“Julián [Álvarez] is a player we are all looking forward to seeing and who will help us to be better. It was all very sudden, so quick. He just arrived a little while ago, has been training for four days but has been adapting fast,” Simeone told a news conference on Sunday.
“But I see him with a lot of enthusiasm, knowing where he is coming from and understanding where he is heading towards. His characteristics fit to the Atleti DNA.”
After spending over €150m on Álvarez, Euro 2024-winning defender Robin Le Normand and last season’s LaLiga top scorer Alexander Sørloth, Simeone played down title expectations.
With negotiations to sign Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher lingering, Simeone said they still need to add more players to be competitive against a Real Madrid side who won the Champions League and LaLiga double last season before recruiting France captain Kylian Mbappé.
“Real Madrid start the season as the best team and will have to prove it with the wonderful players they have while all the rest of us will be behind to compete against them,” Simeone said.
“We haven’t closed the squad yet, apart from not closing it yet, we need to focus on tomorrow’s game and see game by game how the team progress.
“Barcelona continue to have a very good team, Real [Madrid] continue to grow with players who are phenomenal but it’s clear for me that we have to think about ourselves.”