One of the most unexpected departures of this transfer market has been that of Arthur Vermeeren to Leipzig. The Belgian international was unable to convince Simeone, who had not given him many opportunities last season. Despite having played a few minutes in pre-season, the former Antwerp player was not part of the Argentine's plans.
With the departure of Arthur Vermeeren, Atletico Madrid have secured a loan payment of three million euros . However, Leipzig have a lot of faith in the Belgian and hope to be able to take him on as their own next season. For this reason, they have included a purchase option , which could be mandatory, if certain minimum requirements are met.
Arthur Vermeeren an expected departure
The Belgian midfielder's time at Atlético de Madrid has been very complicated, far from adapting to what Simeone needed. He arrived in the January market, a difficult time for signings, as they come to squads that are already adapted. Arthur Vermeeren began to have more consistency in the last few days, when Simeone was defining the team for this season.
The Belgian's intention was to make the most of the pre-season and the friendlies that were to be played throughout the summer. However, none of that was enough and Atlético Madrid ended up finding him a new destination in Europe. The sporting management needed some exits in order to be able to register the signings and Leipzig managed to get Arthur Vermeeren on loan for three million euros.
He has already been officially involved with the German team in the away win against Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen . In addition, such is the confidence in Arthur Vermeeren from Germany, that a purchase option was included that could become obligatory. If some very simple objectives are met, Leipzig will have to pay 20 million euros to Atlético Madrid next summer.
A sale and new signings
Many people think that the club from Madrid has been a bit short in the last transfer window, missing some pieces. However, the red-and-whites had run out of salary limits, something that has prevented them from signing a good centre-back like David Hancko . However, in addition to other players who should look for a new team, Arthur Vermeeren's money will be like water in May .
With his possible sale, Atlético de Madrid would recover all the investment made in the player and would have greater room to manoeuvre. It is important to bear in mind that several players are starting to be very old and will need reliable replacements. Some, such as Jan Oblak , Antoine Griezmann or Josema Giménez, are already starting to be very prominent during the transfer windows.