Atalanta are shoring up their squad ahead of the Champions League campaign and acquired Luis Muriel from Sevilla. The reported fee is €15M and the player penned a five-year contract. The Colombian striker played at Fiorentina in the second half of last season, getting off to a blazing start with six goals in the first eight games, but failing to find the target in the remaining 11. He has suffered an MCL sprain during Copa America, but it should not cost him time in 2019/2020.
Inconsistency has often been a problem for Muriel, who has immense skills but he has yet to put it all together. In Italy, he previously played at Lecce, Udinese and Sampdoria. He notched 11 goals in his two best seasons with the Salentini in 2011/2012, his breakout year, and then with the Blucerchiati in 2016/2017, the last one before moving to La Liga.
He now lands in a perfect environment for him to thrive, considering what Gian Piero Gasperini has been able to do with Duvan Zapata and Josip Ilicic, who had troubles playing at the top of their capabilities elsewhere but turned into studs in Bergamo. The Goddess had very little depth up front other than Musa Barrow, who has struggled being used in limited minutes and might be loaned out. Muriel is unlikely to be a full-time starter, but he will be a key part of the rotation, considering that he can play everywhere on offense and that they tend to avoid using Ilicic in consecutive matches with a short turnaround.
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