6 Atletico Madrid Players with Points to Prove in Pre-Season

Atletico Madrid supporters could be forgiven for being a little jaded and disenchanted at the prospect of the new season rolling around already, given their team was so close to winning both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League last season—but ended up with nothing.

That's simply not the mindset of the club, though, not from the fans and not from the playing or coaching staff: Diego Simeone and Co. will be full throttle once again in pre-season, ready to show that they can take the extra step in 2016-17 and challenge for the biggest trophies once again.

There's little doubt they'll be a force, but there are some decisions to be made for the makeup of the squad and a few players still have to show they are worthy of inclusion; six are on the list who, for different reasons, have a lot to prove in the first weeks of the new campaign as they bid to continue or become first-team options for Los Rojiblancos.

Tiago

Portuguese central midfielder Tiago missed almost all the second half of last season with a broken leg; initially pencilled in for a return in February, he instead only made it back for the final couple of games of the season, getting just a few minutes of game time off the bench.

Tiago was given a new one-year contract by the club in May and thus will play the 2016-17 season at the Vicente Calderon, but his guaranteed spot in the team is gone; Saul Niguez shone in his place at first, before Augusto Fernandez arrived from Celta Vigo in the January transfer window.

Simeone will still have trust that the oldest man in his squad can play a part, but unless the 35-year-old puts in some jaw-dropping performances of both creativity and mobility in pre-season, he'll surely be a rotational option or a player to change the game from the bench.

Borja Baston

A fantastic campaign last year on loan with Eibar saw Borja Baston end the season with 18 league goals and draw praise from all quarters.

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He's not a young striker coming through, though, and he turns 24 before the end of August. If he wants to make an impression at Atletico, this season will be his only chance to do so, and if Simeone hasn't already been convinced of his characteristics while scoring at Eibar, then he has only pre-season to showcase his talents.

Atletico are near-certainties to buy a big-name striker this summer, and Fernando Torres has just signed a one-year contract, meaning that at best a squad-rotation spot might be there for the taking. The biggest issue for Baston will be that he's not the only one vying for the role...

Luciano Vietto

...which brings us to Luciano Vietto. A desperately disappointing first campaign at the Calderon saw him score only once in La Liga all season, and by April he had completely fallen off the radar, playing less than 1,000 league minutes all told.

In truth, there's more than a small chance he will leave the club regardless of pre-season form, but if he wants to continue his adventure and tutelage under Simeone, then it's very much a case of all-or-nothing for the Argentinian forward.

One small possibility has opened up for him: Angel Correa is off to the Rio Olympics with Argentina, as confirmed by Atleti's website, meaning Simeone might want an extra attacker around the place to start the season—but the difference in movement and end product between Correa and Vietto was enormous last term.

Vietto has much to prove, and much to do, if he wants to remain at the club.

Javi Manquillo

One of the few players out on loan last term who looked to have a reasonable chance of making it at Atletico, Javi Manquillo has been out at Liverpool and Olympique de Marseille in the past couple of campaigns.

The right-back returns this summer aged 22, and aside from the usual presence of Juanfran and Jesus Gamez, it's likely he'll also be squeezed out by prospective new signing Sime Vrsaljko.

Manquillo—and Emiliano Velazquez can probably be added to this category, though his performances last season suggest he has no chance of making it at Atletico—has only a slim opportunity of remaining in contention for a first-team berth, perhaps on account of his ability to play at full-back.

Pre-season will also be all or nothing for him and his Atleti career.

Oliver Torres

A hugely talented playmaker, Oliver Torres' Atleti career got back on track last year as he was handed the No. 10 shirt and placed in the team at the start of 2015-16. He lost his form, confidence and starting spot, though, and barely featured in the second half of the season.

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Most recently he has been linked with a switch to Napoli as a makeweight in the deal for Gonzalo Higuain, per Marca, which is indicative of just how far his stock has fallen in a year.

He didn't quite impact enough from the sides in Atletico's 4-4-2, and a switch to 4-3-3 looks probable, giving him even less room to fit in and star, given the left side looks to be locked down by new signing Nicolas Gaitan.

Pre-season offers Oliver an opportunity to prove himself, but ultimately it might merely be to remind the rest of the footballing world of his talents rather than force his way into Atletico's XI.

Alessio Cerci

Last and—as far as Atletico will be concerned—least, is Alessio Cerci.

The Italian wide forward was a complete shambles after signing for the club from Torino, not performing in matches and generally being an abysmal purchase.

He was loaned to AC Milan in the deal which saw Fernando Torres re-sign for Atleti in January 2015, but Cerci soon fell out of favour even at his loan club. In turn, he moved to Genoa for the second half of last season, but he ended the year on the bench and was then out injured.

He has a year left on his contract and another loan back to Serie A should be expected, but unless he shows some sort of form or determination in pre-season, will there be many takers?

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