Considering the impressive levels of success he has delivered at Atletico Madrid over the last three years, it is no surprise to see manager Diego Simeone once again linked to the managerial position at Chelsea.
But before fans of the Blues get too excited about the prospect of being led by a man who has transformed his team from perennial underachievers into genuine European heavyweights, they should consider the reality that his arrival in West London is by no means a foregone conclusion.
For starters, Simeone is an intensely loyal man who, last March, signed a contract to stay with Los Rojiblancos until 2020. For many people in professional football, contracts don’t necessarily mean too much and are only there to be broken. But Simeone is not most people and, as far as he is concerned, Atletico is not just any club. It is his club.
He spent five seasons at the Vicente Calderon as a player, memorably captaining the team to a league and cup double in 1996, and clearly regards the club as his home – a place where the ideology of the environment perfectly matches his own.
Chelsea are confident of landing Diego Simeone this summer. He is Abramovic's number one option. [El Confidencial] pic.twitter.com/fn7eOxZnPe
— Chelsea Transfers (@CFCTransfers) February 10, 2016
Furthermore, these are exciting times for Atletico, whose move into a new 70,000 capacity stadium in the summer of 2017 will further enhance their status on the international stage.
Atletico are also in a much stronger financial position than they have been for many years, boosted by the revenue from their recent Champions League campaigns and a multi-million euro investment from major Chinese corporation Wanda Group.
If there was ever a time to voluntarily leave Atletico Madrid, it is not now – they are a club on the up, and their unconditionally respected manager has plenty of reasons to stay.
Having said all that, it is not entirely impossible that Simeone will decide he has achieved everything he can in Madrid, and that moving to Chelsea represents his most appealing next opportunity. And if he does jump on a plane to England, he could prove to be exactly what the Blues need.
Above all else, Simeone would very quickly give Chelsea a strongly-defined playing style, something they have been lacking ever since Jose Mourinho’s reign started to fall apart.
In a similar manner to Mourinho (before people start growing sick of him), the Argentine coach is a master at communicating what he wants from his players and getting them to stick to this plan.
With Simeone, there is no room for confusion. Players know exactly what they’re supposed to do and how they are supposed to do it.
But this is also a potential problem, because the style of play favoured by Simeone is not exactly what Roman Abramovich would appear to want from a manager, as the Russian still to this day craves a team which attacks with flair.
The Atletico boss is primarily defensive-minded, relying on strict, rigid positional discipline and looking to hit the opposition with rapid counter-attacks. At his current club, that strategy works perfectly because Atletico fans have come to terms with their position in Barcelona and Real Madrid’s shadow and embrace their reputation as a hard-working, grafting, physical and battling defensive team.
It is part of the club’s heritage, and Simeone fits it perfectly. But Chelsea’s players, fans and directors, as Mourinho discovered to his cost, expect to play in a more expansive and entertaining style, getting onto the front foot and taking the game to the opposition – something Simeone is generally reluctant to do.
So although there are plenty of reasons why Simeone might be a good fit at Stamford Bridge, there are just as many to suggest that he wouldn’t.
