Matt Doherty got the chance of a lifetime in the January transfer window, when Atletico Madrid turned up to sign him from Tottenham Hotspur on a free agent basis.
The 31-year-old was given a contract until the end of the current season, and during his presentation he made it clear he was determined to impress so Los Rojiblancos would give him an extended deal.
That was his whole idea behind leaving Tottenham, and trying to impress a new manager away from Antonio Conte.
Unfortunately for Doherty, he was always facing an uphill battle. Recent reports in Spain have made it clear it wasn’t Diego Simeone’s idea to sign the player from Tottenham. Instead, it was directors at Atletico who saw the defender as a market opportunity and a gamble worth taking.
Saturday’s edition of AS says Doherty’s future is at risk, and they explain how the move from Tottenham hasn’t worked out the way he’ll have wanted. With just 12 minutes of La Liga action, he risks seeing his Atletico career end before it’s really started.
AS say he has three months to rescue the situation and get himself a new deal, but he can’t do that if Diego Simeone seems to think even less of him than Antonio Conte did.
