Guillem Balague doesn’t think Nicolas Gaitan will be leaving Atletico Madrid this month.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has told Sky Sports that he can’t see Atletico Madrid letting Nicolas Gaitan leave the club during this month’s transfer window.
Gaitan, 28, was one of the most in-demand players in Europe during his time with Benfica, and, after years of speculation surrounding a move to England, he earned a move to Atletico Madrid having hit 41 goals in 253 games for Benfica.
Nicolas Gaitan in action for Benfica
The Argentinian winger arrived with high expectations, but he has so far struggled to make an impact with last season’s Champions League finalists, as he’s started just five games in all competitions.
Gaitan has played just 13 times for Atletico this season, grabbing two goals and no assists having struggled to establish himself in Diego Simeone’s first team.
Guillem Balague
Now, speculation is already linking Gaitan with a move away from the Estadio Vicente Calderon, and he could become the latest player to be flogged by Atletico just months after being snapped up, just like Alessio Cerci, Raul Jimenez, Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto in recent years.
The Mirror reported on Monday that Tottenham Hotspur could make a move to take Gaitan on loan until the end of the season, with manager Mauricio Pochettino considering a swoop for his compatriot.
With that in mind, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has been asked about Gaitan’s future in (Sky Sports), and suggested that the winger is finding it difficult to adapt to Simeone’s style, as many players have.
Balague did though add that Atletico have high hopes for Gaitan, and don’t want to let him go during this month’s transfer window, even if he’s only a super sub right now.
“It is very difficult to adapt to Simeone’s Atletico Madrid,” said Balague. “A lot of players haven’t been able to do it. They have got a lot of hopes for Gaitan, who keeps going in and out of the side but he has to work much harder with the ball to be able to make an impact. At the moment, he is just a super sub, but they don’t want him to go in January,” he added.
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