Why Atletico Madrid Should Hand a Chance to Borja Baston in 2016/17

Atletico Madrid built their La Liga title challenge on the rock-solid foundation of the league's best defence, and they're unlikely to change their approach in the near future.

Diego Simeone's team is structurally and tactically sound, but they will no doubt look to improve their options and quality in the final third for next season. One possibility open to them is to recall striker Borja Baston, who was on loan at Eibar this season in the Spanish top flight.

Baston netted 18 league goals for the Basque side as they finished 14th in the table, and the striker did enough to suggest Atleti should consider him for next season and make him a part of the squad.

Vietto and the Front Line

First and foremost, it's about numbers: Atletico sold Jackson Martinez in February, leaving them with Antoine Griezmann as the first-choice forward, Fernando Torres ending up as the man in-form and Angel Correa as a super sub. Torres is the only genuine No. 9 in that group, with Luciano Vietto the fourth option—and he was entirely out of favour by season's end.

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The former Villarreal man could feasibly be on his way out of the Vicente Calderon this summer, at least on a loan deal. If that's the case, then even with a replacement for Jackson needed as a big-money striker, there's a space in the group for another forward to impact—and that's where Baston will be looking to make his mark.

Baston has been non-committal about his intentions for summer, per AS (in Spanish), suggesting merely that he wants stability and was looking to see out the season in style with Eibar. He did that, finishing as the third-highest Spanish scorer behind Aritz Aduriz (20) and Ruben Castro (19) and will surely have given Simeone and his team of coaches plenty to think about for next season's squad structure.

Value

There are two main reasons—aside from injury rehabilitation—for sending players out on loan: They are young and could improve with regular game time, or they aren't of the required standard and a loan shifts them off the squad list and wage bill and ideally puts them in the shop window.

At 23 years of age, Borja is between the two. He'll turn 24 in the first weeks of the 2016-17 season and needs to be part of a squad where he can form a career.

This was his last opportunity, realistically, to showcase his ability to cut it in La Liga. Having scored 23 in La Segunda in 2014-15, he showed he could make the step up—not just to Atletico, but to all clubs. If Atleti don't want him, there will be no shortage of takers.

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There is one more season remaining on his contract at the Calderon, which means Atleti must either sell this summer or renew his deal with the promise of involvement next term. Importantly, they will lose no resale value on him if they renew, keep him and he doesn't manage to breach the first XI regularly.

His regular scoring contributions with Eibar mean the interest will remain, and he could easily be sold on in January or beyond. But he's worth the gamble of keeping him for next season and could potentially bring a big reward in terms of goals.

Homegrown

It's also worth noting that Baston is an Atletico-bred player, a homegrown academy product who ticks another box for Atletico's European squad. Koke, Saul and a handful of others come under this bracket, and it would look fantastic if Atleti added yet another name to the list.

Director Jose Luis Perez Caminero noted the club's "commitment to the homegrown players" with the announcement of Saul's recent contract renewal and incorporating Baston next term reinforces that notion.

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Another player in the squad who has been schooled from youth in Simeone's system and knows the ambition of the club can be nothing but a positive, and there's little downside to including Baston next season and giving him his big shot at making it.

Baston might not fire at the highest level. But Torres also might not retain his recent level, Correa may not quickly find consistency and any new striker signing might fail to adapt, like Jackson. If any of those situations come to pass, having Baston around as a predatory forward could provide Atletico with enough impetus and goals to go one step closer in their Liga title challenge in 2016-17.

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