Simeone ready for challenge in LaLiga or Premier League

After several transfer windows in which the name of Giovanni Simeone has come up, it seems that this summer will finally be the one when the Argentina striker and son of Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone will finally make a long-anticipated move to the Premier League or LaLiga. After five seasons and more than 50 goals in Serie A with Cagliari, Fiorentina and Genoa, El Cholito seems set to take his father’s advice and seek a move to a different league. “My old man told me to go to Italy for a season or two, where the league is really tough for strikers and where scoring is worth double, to be more prepared for Spain or England,” he said recently.

Simeone was linked with a move to Atlético while at Genoa in 2017 to link up with his father but eventually joined Fiorentina for a fee of €15m. After proving he can score in the more defensive environs of Serie A and earning five caps for Argentina, 25-year-old El Cholito is now eyeing a move after maturing as a player in Italy.

The 2020-21 season started in fine fashion for the striker, who scored five times before October, but the crisis at Cagliari saw the side turn to Leonardo Semplici, a coach who opts for a more conventional Italian style and amore physical approach, which served to keep Gli Isolani in Serie A with a 16^th-placed finish.

Godín: "He has the ability to test himself in another league"

Cagliari’s struggles also affected Simeone at international level. He was left out of Argentina’s latest squad for the World Cup qualifiers and the Copa América despite being included in the initial list and receiving a call-up as recently as September.

That has also led Simeone to start thinking about a move abroad. Diego Godín, a stalwart of Diego Simeone’s Atlético, told La Nacion a couple of months ago: “He has the ability, of course, to test himself in another league in England or in Spain. He has the talent and he is willing to give it a go. He will continue growing and forging his career.”