This Sunday, Atlético de Madrid faces Real Sociedad in a duel between two teams set to fight for European places in the coming months. Authors of a more than convincing start to the season, the Colchoneros have been shining since the start of the season by offering an attractive game offensively and far from the image that Diego Simeone’s tactics can convey. El Cholo is not the only one to have made the supporters lie since the start of the season. Indeed, coming from nowhere, Saul Niguez once again became an irremovable starter in the eyes of the Argentine technician.
After a failed loan at Chelsea, few gave much of their skin to Madrid
For someone coming out of a coma she was plunged into in 2016, seeing Saul still beaming in the midfield with his proud number 8 on his back would seem like a logical next step. However, with all the adventures that the native of Elche has gone through between his fantastic debut and his current start to the high-level season, seeing him again in October 2023 in the middle of Atlético is nothing to write home about. To understand this, we have to go back to 2021. Author of five very good exercises between 2015 and 2020, the 28-year-old player is not in his right mood during the 2020-21 vintage. Less and less of a starter, he sees his place being called into question by some physical glitches and lackluster performances. Author of his poorest season from a statistical point of view (2 goals and 1 assist in 41 appearances), the Spanish international (19 caps, 3 goals) was then loaned in the final hours of the summer transfer window to Chelsea.
While the Spanish press tells us that Thomas Tuchel was not necessarily excited about the idea of his arrival, our colleagues from across the Channel also recalled that the profile of the Iberian environment was preferred to that of Aurélien Tchouaméni who finally settled down at Real Madrid the following summer. And since things started badly, they also turned out in a very sad way. Dragging his spleen to London, Saul wandered like a lost soul among the residents of Stamford Bridge. At the end of this failed experience in all aspects (23 matches, 12 starts, 1 goal), the player who played for Real Madrid in the youth team returned to the Matelassiers and was confined to a substitute role last season as evidenced by his 15 starts in 38 appearances.
His work and humility paid off this summer
However, Saul would have had a click this summer. As the Spanish press likes to report, Saul Niguez would have worked a lot during the offseason. Determined to regain his place in his favorite club, he then refused amazing offers from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. A hard worker, the player showed a conquering face during the summer preparation and knew how to provoke luck. Indeed, by proving reliable in training, the pure product of the Colchoneros team was able to take advantage of the numerous injuries in the Madrid midfield to become a starter again. And he clearly didn’t want to let this new chance pass him by. Author of five assists in his 9 appearances this season, Saul Niguez has returned to his best level. Having played all of six of his last seven matches, the latter now seems immovable in the eyes of Diego Simeone and (re)makes everyone agree.
Asked about the resplendent form of his foal at the moment, Diego Simeone indulged in a speech which also resembles an ode to work and perseverance: “Saúl Ñíguez’s strong performance? It is a reward for humility, hard work and not giving up. He went through some tough years, it didn’t go the way he would have liked at Chelsea and he didn’t play as much as he wanted when he returned. But he never stopped working and staying positive, and it’s finally paying off. When someone gives everything, we give him the opportunity, and he took it, coming in from midfield, helping, and hopefully we can maintain that level. All the work of recent years deserves this moment.» All Madrid supporters must also hope for the same thing from now on: that Saul Niguez maintains this high level over time. At 28, he still has plenty of time to get back on track with his career after a more than promising start. Not yet in Luis de la Fuente’s little papers with La Roja, there is no doubt that the latter is carefully scrutinizing the recent exploits of the 28-year-old.
