Atalanta have plenty of new faces at their disposal ahead of the 2017/18 campaign. Having finished fourth last season, there are some big boots for the new boys to fill – that was their highest ever league finish. The intent is clearly there with the improvement in the squad – as far as depth goes at least – but with Juventus, Roma and Napoli finishing so far ahead last time out there is much ground to be made up.
The largest transfer fee involved in one of Atalanta’s acquisitions was the £5.10m capture of Timothy Castagne from Genk. He was signed to replace Andrea Conti, who departed the club for pastures new in Milan. Conti’s transfer involved another player moving the other direction in a cash-plus-player deal, with Matteo Pessina swapping the San Siro for the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia.
The highest profile deal involving players already in the EuroFantasyLeague game was arguably the permanent capture of Etrit Berisha. The keeper had spent the season on loan at the club last year, and the club took up the option of buying him on a permanent basis after he kept 11 clean sheets. Berisha, therefore, played a large part in Atalanta’s impressive league position, and was an important signing if the club hope to build on those solid foundations.
Berisha’s EFL value has remained the same at 3.0m, and so he seems something of a surefire consideration for the fantasy managers out there. His 53 points last season made him the 20th best stopper in the entire EFL game, and considering he only conceded an average of one goal per game he will be hoping the addition of Castagne and José Luis Palomino to the defensive line will help reinforce things at the back and allow him to return an even better tally this coming season.
Palomino enters the EuroFantasyLeague game with a value of 5m, which isn’t far from the mark given his actual transfer fee – round about £3.4m. He arrived from Ludogorets, where he won the Bulgarian title. He also brings Champions League experience with him, having played for the Bulgarian outfit in the group stages of the competition last season.
As far as forwards go, Cardiff fans may well remember Andreas Cornelius, who returns to the EFL game for the first time since departing the Welsh club. His time spent in the UK was a struggle, and he eventually returned to previous club FC Copenhagen. Well, now he will be turning out for Atalanta next season, having completed a £3.5m transfer first announced at the start of May.
Alongside Cornelius we could be seeing Pessina’s former Milan team-mate Luca Vido featuring. He also made the switch this summer, for a reported fee of around £850k. Supplying the front line, however, looks likely to be Josip Ilicic. He moved to the club in a £4.68m deal from Fiorentina, and his 5.5m in-game valuation seems quite reasonable given his 40 point return last season.
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