It was a deal that came somewhat as a surprise over the summer, albeit the arrival of any Argentina international in the Diego Simeone era cannot come as too much of a shock. Nicolas Gonzalez arrived from Juventus on a loan with an option to buy, but that option may well become obligatory depending on some of the conditions of the deal.
Gonzalez, 27, came in on transfer deadline day as Atletico scrambled to strengthen their squad late on in the window. He may not be a familiar name for those into desi gaming, but he does have a consistently good track record at international level, where 48 caps speak to a regular for Lionel Scaloni. The former Argentinos Juniors winger had his best spell at Fiorentina in Europe, where he made his name in Serie A convincing Juventus to drop €36.5m on him.
While he continued to run hard, Gonzalez never managed to replicate his Fiorentina form in Turin. At Atletico, it has been a mixed bag too. Certain performances have been impressive, in particular the gusto that he added against Real Madrid during a 5-2 derby win. His work-rate, the width he provides and his comfort in a 4-4-2 are all benefits for Simeone. Gonzalez is an impressive header of the ball for a wide forward too, which given how often Marcos Llorente and Giuliano Simeone look to get the ball into the box, is a significant trait.
On the other hand, Gonzalez is yet to become a regular difference-maker for Atletico too. So far he has made 25 appearances, contributing to just one goal, although it should be noted that that amounts to just 1,405 minutes, which denotes his lack of regular rhythm. Far too often he has been nullified by the opposition, and it seems that without space to exploit, he struggles to perform as he would like.
The conditions of their deal with Juventus mean that Atletico must pay the Bianconeri €32m if he plays at least 45 minutes in nine of their remaining 15 La Liga matches. Some of it has been down to injury, but Gonzalez has only managed to do so in one of their last six games. While €32m may not be a bad fee for an international winger of his standing, the fact he struggles to make more of an impact on the scoresheet may cast doubt on whether the deal is worth it if Simeone cannot get more out of him. Certainly if it isn’t in the back of Simeone’s mind in the final third of the season, it will be in the thoughts of Sporting Director Mateu Alemany, who did not sanction the deal either.
