Why Saul Niguez Is the 1 Player Atletico Madrid Can't Afford to Lose This Summer

Atletico Madrid's success under manager Diego Simeone has inevitably meant that they have had to fend off bids for their best players most summers, with the likes of Diego Costa, David de Gea and Arda Turan all moving on recently.

This summer isn't likely to be different in terms of interest after Atleti mounted a challenge for La Liga and have made it to the UEFA Champions League final. They should find themselves in the position to reject any advances for players they absolutely do not want to sell.

There could be quite a few in that category, though almost every player is ultimately replaceable. The one player in danger of being targeted by other clubs who Atletico absolutely cannot afford to lose, is midfielder Saul Niguez.

Candidates

To be clear, we're not saying Saul is the best on the team. There are however two or three players who are in no apparent danger of being sold and thus shouldn't come into the equation: Koke, Diego Godin and Jan Oblak being paramount among them.

Of the remaining players, while someone such as Antoine Griezmann is naturally a superb part of the squad, he would fetch an enormous transfer fee and his type of game is replaceable for Atletico, especially given their innate ability to replace quality with quality.

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Saul, Jose Maria Gimenez, Yannick Carrasco, Angel Correa and one or two others are younger stars who teams would no doubt love to get their hands on. But Saul's own blend of characteristics make him the stand-out who Simeone and Co. should add to the untouchable list, including Godin and Koke.

Why Saul

An Atletico player since his formative youth days after a year with Real Madrid, Saul is potentially one of Los Rojiblancos best ever club-produced individuals.

His game this season has come on enormously with increased game time since November and increased responsibility within the team; now one of the players Simeone trusts with all types of games and in the knowledge that he'll be up to both the physical and tactical demands of the manager, Saul starts almost every match.

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Versatility is, of course, an important aspect of Saul's game too, and it would necessitate at least two players to be brought in to cover the range of positions and roles that the Spaniard has played this season: both sides of midfield, just off the forward, as the deepest midfielder and even at centre-back.

Add in his power, ability to beat players, a great passing range and his goalscoring prowess with runs from deep, and this is a player who has been one of Atletico's main catalysts over the second half of the season.

Next

It would be nice, but isn't absolutely necessary, to see Saul become a regular starter in the centre of midfield for Atletico. He plays extremely well when used as the right-sided midfielder in a four, and he's able to break forward down the channel and link play in the final third.

But as Atleti switch with more frequency to a 4-3-3 in games, Saul's power and ability to both attack and defend come ever more to the fore.

Given Atletico's star attackers, it wouldn't be a great surprise to see them utilise the latter system more often from the start next year, with Saul and Koke as the two most offensive midfielders. It's an easy switch to pivot to a quartet in the middle thanks to both players' comfort in wider areas, and it makes use of space and pace on the flanks for Griezmann and Carrasco, or Correa.

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Saul's game will only be on the up over the next couple of seasons.

He has shown amazing consistency from winter onward, not just in fitness and availability, but also in keeping a high level of performance in a demanding team. Keep him in place and Atletico have one of Spain's best new midfielders at their disposal for his years when his physical peak will match his determination and technical level.

Saul is one of the keys to ongoing successes. Keeping him at the Vicente Calderon must be an absolute priority for the club.

Follow @karlmatchett.