Atletico Madrid Must Reject Bids for Jan Oblak Transfer to Manchester United
In the world of football, the "managerial merry-go-round" is at times spoken about, with chops and changes in summer and a few months into each season increasingly common as clubs restructure, change objectives and chase success.
In truth, it's not so much a merry-go-round as a domino effect at times, with one manager's availability hastening the departure—or at least increasing the pressure—on another.
This summer, we see the same domino effect taking place with regard to goalkeepers: Bursaspor took Fenerbahce's No. 2 Mert Gunok, the runners-up then brought in Porto's first-choice Fabiano on loan; Porto have just clinched the signing of the legendary, though fading, Iker Casillas—and Real Madrid, it's no secret, are keen to replace him with David de Gea. That in turn will leave Manchester United needing a new No. 1, and recent reports, via the Mirror, have them linked with Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak.
As far as Atletico go though, this is where the domino effect has to stop.
Chain Reaction
United, according to AS (h/t the Express) have already had a £20 million bid rejected for Oblak, as they look to pre-empt de Gea's increasingly likely move to Atleti's rivals, Real Madrid. The English club have been given the same answer Atletico themselves received when initially trying to sign Oblak a year ago: pay his release clause.
Then it was €16 million; now it is estimated at around £29 million (€40 million).
Oblak took some time to establish himself as Atletico's No. 1 due to injury last summer and the early-season form of Miguel Angel Moya, who arrived at the same time and performed admirably early on, but once Moya himself was injured in March, it was Oblak who stepped up and took his chance.
Atletico have already been busy this transfer window, but another new goalkeeper was not part of the plan and, given their objectives to challenge for titles and the quality they have in Oblak, they must do everything possible to keep the Slovenian in place.
Qualities
After several seasons out on loan, Oblak established himself at Benfica in 2013-14. He played just the one campaign for them, winning the Best Goalkeeper of the Year, but his ability was already plenty evident, and Atletico snapped him up.
From March until the end of the season, it was easy to see why.
Oblak is totally reliable in every major goalkeeping aspect: A great stature gives him aerial dominance and a real presence in crowded penalty areas. His strength doesn't come at the cost of agility though, and his reactions and ability to reach for shots is excellent, and he is also good with his feet, both for shot-stopping or blocks and for distribution.
At 22 years of age, his meagre five-cap haul for Slovenia is far more representative of his competition—Samir Handanovic of Inter Milan—than his ability.
Had he played out the entirety of the 2014-15 Liga campaign as Atleti's first choice at the same level that he finished it, he certainly would have rivalled Sergio Asenjo, Diego Alves and Claudio Bravo as the top performers from that position.
Building Success
As mentioned, Atletico have already been active this summer: three new attackers are in, two attackers and a number of defensive players are out and several of last year's fringe players who spent time out on loan have done, or will do, the same this year.
In every transfer though, this year has been one of Atletico picking and choosing who to improve upon and where to raise the bar. Aside from Arda Turan's exit, there has been no major repeat of hoards of stars departing and as good as the Turk is, he was not the biggest component of midfield, let alone the team, and is replaceable.
What Atleti do not now want is for that to start again: Oblak, Josema Gimenez, Koke or Antoine Griezmann, younger stars who are already amongst the top players in Europe in their respective positions, departing for new teams and Diego Simeone essentially having to start from scratch once more.
Atletico have already put a very strong squad together, and a couple more additions can be expected.
But for Simeone in particular, the strength of the base and spine of the team is paramount for his style and expectations, and in Oblak he has one of the top keepers in Spain at his disposal. He will not want to lose him, and Oblak should not be keen to leave so hastily, and together they could seriously mount another title tilt in La Liga.
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