Has Yannick Carrasco Lived Up to His €20 Million Price Tag?

Atletico Madrid were busy in the transfer market last summer. They bought and sold a significant number of players, altering the makeup of their first team in terms of both star names and average age, with incoming recruits generally being younger than the outgoing stars.

One of the big-money captures was €20 million winger Yannick Carrasco, who joined from AS Monaco in Ligue 1. It was seen as a steep fee for a 21-year-old player who had only spent one-and-a-half seasons as a regular in one of Europe's top flights.

He has played a key part for Atletico this term, as they have fought for both La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles, and they could yet end up a winner in the latter. Even though he is not an undisputed starter and is rarely called upon for the full 90 minutes at this point, there is no doubt he has already proven a good signing for Atletico and can be worth far more than the amount they paid for him in time.

Technical Ability

First and foremost, the most notable strengths of Carrasco are his dribbling and close control. He can exploit gaps and create danger simply by running at the defence with the ball, but his diagonal passing and willingness to shoot are additional attributes that make him a threat in the final third.

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As with most attackers, he'll be judged by how effective he is in the final third, and for Atletico, Carrasco has been one of the most inventive and exciting players to watch—but he still has some way to go to match the build-up with the end product.

Four goals from more than 40 appearances is a low return for a player who is often a go-to out-ball for the team, but many young wide forwards have improved their strike rate considerably after hitting 22 or 23 years of age.

Carrasco is perhaps the most skilful individual at Atletico, and he'll certainly get better as he learns when to release early, when to run straight at the defence, how to improve his finishing and how keep his composure.

Tactical Importance

Carrasco is an out-ball for Atletico when they want to counter-attack, and this is just one part of his importance to the team on a tactical level.

Atleti will either press high and hard or sit deep on the edge of their own box and look to spring diagonal passes for the likes of Carrasco, Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres to attack with. In both phases, Carrasco has proven more than adept at adding plenty to the team, working hard to close down in midfield and being aggressive defensively.

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His pace on the counter and his ability to play both flanks give Atletico versatility, but Diego Simeone has also shown a willingness on more than one occasion to play Carrasco as a striker.

When he's paired with Griezmann, Atletico have two direct runners in attack who can lead a foray forward on their own if need be, and one possibility is that Simeone has Carrasco in mind to play a similar role to Griezmann if the French forward moves on to a new club.

Growth and Development

Carrasco has proven extremely important to the team this year, but it didn't happen overnight. After joining, he was initially left on the bench, as Koke and Oliver Torres filled the midfield wide spots.

Considering he will make either 42 or 43 appearances this term, a total of less than 2,500 minutes isn't an extraordinary amount of game time. Carrasco has had a couple of injuries and has been used as an impact sub at times too, as well as frequently being replaced around the 60- or 70-minute mark when starting. In fact, he has only played a full 90 minutes once in La Liga and four times overall.

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The scope for him to improve as a player is obvious; the more aware he becomes of the demands of the team and the more power he builds in his body to maintain Simeone-esque levels of intensity, the more frequently he'll be a 90-minute performer and a must-start member of the team.

It wouldn't raise any eyebrows if a team offered Atletico €25 million or €30 million for Carrasco this summer, and in another couple of seasons, they could easily be looking at figures similar to those Antoine Griezmann has been linked with—far closer to €50 million. Carrasco was a smart buy for Atletico on all levels, and that certainly includes value for money.

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