Just a couple of weeks ago, Atletico Madrid's proposed move for Girona striker Artem Dovbyk collapsed, resulting in the Ukrainian joining Roma instead. "Atletico is a great club," the player's agent, Oleksiy Lundovsky, told Ukrfootball on July 26, "but we didn't see a serious project for Artem there."
The supporters didn't either. After a frustrating 2023-24 campaign that promised much but delivered little, Atleti's fan base had been promised a revolution at the Metropolitano, an exciting overhaul of Diego Simeone's squad that would transform the team into Spanish title challengers.
And yet as the end of July approached, Atleti had yet to sign a single player. Fast-forward two weeks, though, and the Rojiblancos are suddenly looking like the big winners of the summer transfer window after a sensational spending spree.
Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sorloth have already joined from Real Sociedad and Villarreal, respectively, and they will soon be joined in Madrid by England international Conor Gallagher and World Cup winner Julian Alvarez.
So, how have Atletico made this happen? And is Simeone's side now a legitimate threat to Real Madrid's hopes of a successful title defence?