‘I see him similar to Costa’: Diego Simeone compares Memphis Depay to Diego Costa
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‘I see him similar to Costa’: Diego Simeone bizarrely claims new Atletico Madrid player Memphis Depay can play as former Chelsea striker Diego Costa after Dutchman’s arrival from Barcelona
- Diego Simeone has outlined his expectations about the new star striker Memphis Depay
- The Atlético de Madrid manager compared Depay to club legend Diego Costa
- Costa, now at Wolves, scored 83 goals in 216 games with the LaLiga team
Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone has compared star new signing Memphis Depay to the club’s former striker Diego Costa.
Depay completed his £2.6m move from Barcelona to Madrid on Friday, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the club and arriving in search of more regular playing time after struggles at his former team.
Simeone was asked about his latest star at Atlético’s pre-match press conference ahead of their LaLiga clash with Real Valladolid on Saturday night.
Memphis Depay completed his £2.6m transfer from Barcelona to Atlético Madrid on Friday
Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone hopes Depay can make a similar impact to former star striker Diego Costa.
The 52-year-old made the comparison to club legend Costa and admitted that Atlético had hoped to have the same player as Depay during his successful spell at Lyon.
“A player arrives with enthusiasm and the desire to recover his best version. We will work to meet the player who was at Lyon, where he showed his strength and we will bring him to his best form,” Simeone said.
That he can give us back what we seek from him. As a striker he can play first or second striker.
Costa (right) scored 83 goals in 216 appearances for Atlético Madrid, while Depay (left) managed just 14 goals for Barcelona.
Costa, 34 (left), Atlético Madrid in 2021, will eventually move to Brazil before joining Wolves in the summer of 2022
I see it similar to [Diego] Costa, who was a striker who always started as second striker but then went first because he defined well and was explosive.
“Last season he didn’t have bad numbers,” he added.
However, such comparisons to Costa’s prime form at the 11-time Spanish champions, scoring 83 goals in 216 appearances, is a surprising suggestion given that Depay has only netted once in La Liga so far this season.
Depay (right) hopes to recreate the form he previously showed in Lyon that earned him the first move to Spain.
Simeone praised Depay’s qualities after being asked about the Dutchman’s departure to the Spanish capital
The 28-year-old’s arrival in the Spanish capital marks the fifth turnaround in Depay’s professional career, where, after difficulties in Barcelona, he is looking to restore the form that first earned him a move to Spain.
Depay scored 178 goals in 76 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, during the prime of his French career at Lyon between 2017 and 2021, after similar difficulties to England at Manchester United.