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Scouting Report: Saul Niguez
- Updated: October 6, 2016
Last season was a breakthrough campaign for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez.
The 21-year-old Spain international became a first-team regular at the Vicente Calderon and quickly marked himself out as a key asset to Diego Simeone.
Atleti were runners-up in the Champions League last term – narrowly losing out on penalties to bitter rivals Real Madrid – and Saul was vital in guiding Los Colchoneros to their second final in three seasons having scored a sublime solo goal against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the semi-final.
The versatile, all-round midfielder is now being linked with Arsenal, with the Gunners reportedly eying further reinforcements after their £80m summer spending spree.
The Football Whispers Index currently gives Saul’s potential move to the Emirates a score of 1.1 out of five, which suggests any such deal is far from certain. But the fact that this one has crept up from a zero rating a couple of days ago means momentum could be building.
Saul was a prospect of note within the Atletico Madrid academy for several years before his first-team debut in a Europa League fixture against Besiktas as a 17-year-old in 2012.
The Elche-born midfielder moved to Madrid to initially join Real Madrid’s academy in 2006, before moving across the capital to sign for Atleti in 2008. The youngster, who has represented his country at all youth levels, became a regular for Atleti’s B team B team in 2010.
A 2013/14 loan spell with Rayo Vallecano saw Saul hone his skills by playing predominantly as a centre-back, developing the kind of appreciation for the defensive side of the game that has served him so well in Simeone’s ultra-disciplined system.
Saul’s accelerated progression to first-team regular was largely due to the misfortune of a team-mate. Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes was ruled out with a broken leg for most of last season, freeing up a berth which was soon claimed by the Spaniard.
Also key to Saul’s ever presence in the side was his versatility. Although he has played mostly right of Atletico’s midfield four, he is equally adept at playing on the other flank, or centrally as either a deep-lying pivot or a more advanced attacking …
