You are an Atletico fan, so you are living and breathing this saga. I’m sure you know more than I do.
my impression of Saul over 25-30 matches I have watched him play for Atletico is this:
1. Technically super solid.
2. Natural box-to-box midfielder with nice instinct on late runs into the box.
3. Big game performer
4. Smart player
5. Defensively sound
my understanding of the Simeone - Saul situation was no so much that Saul’s performances had dropped off, but rather the rise in importance of Marcos Llorente.In a 4-4-2, Koke and Llorente are the two CMs with Correa and Carrasco wide, Joao Felix as the 2nd striker. No place for Saul. When Felix is dropped, Llorente moves into the 2nd striker position and Saul comes on to pair with Koke. When playing a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, Koke and Saul are at the pivot and Llorente is further forward. Added to this is complication that they bought Felix for 120m, he’s young, he needs game time, but doesn’t really fit Simeone’s ethos of defense first, which gives Simeone a selection headache.
Are these observations accurate?
1) Saúl is OK technically, limited under pressure in build-up. He can't organize play and should not have the ball in the build-up unless he improves this part of his game drastically.
2) Actually, very good instinct. His interpretation of space is very good - def & off. But he's not played in that position for a long time.
3) Less and less with time passing on. However, when in form, yes. Here's an amazing statistic: Atlético haven't lost a single competitive game when Saúl has scored a goal. Think it's 45 games as of now. Since 2014..
4) Yes, excellent tactically and very adaptable if used correctly.
5) Very disciplined off the ball and in terms of covering spaces. He understands what good movements off the ball means like few players.
As for the last point; Atlético play different systems and approach games differently based on the opposition. They've mostly been playing a 3-5-2 but it has sometimes morphed into a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 - it depends on the players on the pitch. Simeone makes changes to the system several times during games (up to 3 times depending on the situation). Saúl has mostly played as a "interior" (central midfielder who plays on the wing but goes inside to open up space for the wing-backs/fullbacks) and as a wing-back. Llorente moves between CM/wing (defensive duties) and running behind opposing defenders back as a third striker and utilizing his pace (1 v 1, combination play) on the wing (enabled by Trippier's/Koke's passing).
João's problem is injuries - not Simeone. It's a myth that Simeone is defensive and he doesn't fit in. Simeone asks for defensive discipline and efficiency and the player is intelligent enough to adapt to that. But JF's got a very fragile frame and has been kicked off the pitch at least 3-4 times since he joined rendering in various injuries that have limited him for large periods of time. He played injured from early November until finally getting an operation in July last season. That's why he barely featured for Portugal at the Euros. He was Atlético's best player by a large margin when he was fit between August-October.
