Atletico Madrid Will Win the 2015/16 Liga After Excellent Summer Transfer Window

The remarkable success of Atletico Madrid since Diego Simeone took charge has seen them win almost every competition going, from European trophies and domestic cups to the crowning glory of the run so far, La Liga's 2013-14 title.

They weren't able to successfully defend it last season, ending third place in the table and some way off Barcelona and Real Madrid as the constant need to replace and structure the team's stars took its toll. This summer, though, Atleti have kept their core players, added genuine quality to them and look fantastically placed to go on and challenge for key honours once more.

In fact, ahead of the start of the 2015-16 campaign this weekend, they are the team who can be looked at as having the best blend of stability and additions and it's certainly the best squad Simeone has had to work with. It's not difficult to suggest: Atletico Madrid will win this season's La Liga title.

Manipulating the Market

Atleti's weakest points last season were fairly clear: Left-back was a problem area, and they didn't have enough in attack to support Antoine Griezmann once Mario Mandzukic became more of a fail than a success. Also, even accounting for Simeone's habit of keeping the same team more often than not, they were mainly reliant on a core of about 14 or 15 players.

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This summer, all of those are taken care of.

Filipe Luis is back, they have four "starting" forwards in the squad, at least a couple of players have returned from loan, who can contribute to the squad over the course of the entire season, and there are two players for each position—most of which are in the "very good" category and a handful of which approach world-class.

Simeone has a very complete squad at his disposal.

Project Continuation

Lots of teams can build good squads of course, but what Atletico have done differently this time is build from a position of strength. Their transfer work has been on their own terms.

For several summers in a row, they have spent reasonable money—but only really to replace what was lost. Thibaut Courtois, Diego Costa, David Villa, David de Gea, Radamel Falcao...the number of top-quality stars they have lost over the past few seasons is amazing, but this time the only first-choice departure was Arda Turan. And, as good a player as the Turk is, he wasn't an absolutely key and irreplaceable part of the way Atleti play.

It's quite clear that the majority of players want to stay involved. Diego Godin could have left but opted not to. The same possibly goes for Koke. Simeone has renewed his deal and top talents from elsewhere actively want to move to Atletico.

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The return of Filipe Luis is a case in point—after a year away, not playing as much as he would have liked, he has come straight back to the Calderon.

Compare all that continuity and regeneration to Atleti's rivals; Real Madrid haven't made waves in the transfer market this summer and have a new head coach in place, one who will change up personnel and tactics slightly to fit his own style.

Barcelona have a transfer ban which means they can't register new players until January—and have lost the influence of Xavi Hernandez, look set to sell Pedro and haven't settled into the new season in top form, shipping goals galore in three competitive games so far.

Firepower

Atleti are renowned for being tough competitors, defensively organised and hard to break down—but to go on and win the title, you need goals too. Lots of them.

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And, after an excellent summer's work, that's exactly what they've got. Antoine Griezmann finished on 22 in La Liga last season. Jackson Martinez hit over 20 for a third consecutive season in Portugal's Liga NOS—where they play slightly fewer games. Luciano Vietto impressed hugely for Villarreal and can certainly reach double figures again this term, while Fernando Torres looks sharp, fit and ready to contribute.

Add in Angel Correa, who could impact in spells this term, and there is plenty of front-line talent even without considering those who will attack from the second line: Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Oliver Torres, Koke, Raul Garcia.

There are creativity and goals to go with the resilience and determination of the squad. There is a manager who knows the league and his opponents inside out and who maximises the output from every single one of his players. Every ingredient Atleti need to make it a successful campaign is in place.

La Liga remains tremendously competitive and to win it means an almost perfect season for Atleti—an 80 percent win rate in La Liga is a must. But after the success of the last few seasons and the continual building work done this summer, they can feel they head into the new campaign with a great chance of lifting the trophy in May.

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