Atlético are reportedly willing to sell Jan Oblak and have already ID’d his replacement

A new report in Diario AS has claimed that Atlético Madrid are ready to sell club icon Jan Oblak this summer as part of a first-team facelift.

F.J. Díaz, the director of AS’ Atlético section, iterated Wednesday what other publications have reported in recent weeks: that Atletico are planning a squad refresh when the transfer window reopens, and that several long-serving players have unclear futures. This includes Stefan Savić, Ángel Correa, and — in the biggest domino of all — Oblak, who has made 441 appearances for Atleti since he joined from Benfica in 2014.

According to AS, Oblak has “lost his status as an irreplaceable player,” in part due to a high salary — €10 million net — that managing director Carlos Bucero and sporting director Andrea Berta have been charged with removing from the wage bill. Oblak’s performances this season have also been concerning; the Slovenia international has let in 64 goals in all competitions this term, and for the second time in three seasons, he has underperformed his post-shot expected goals mark in LALIGA (allowed 39 goals from 36.4 expected, according to FBRef).

Oblak reportedly turned down an offer from Saudi Arabia last summer, and in previous years the club has swatted aside interest from English giants Liverpool and Manchester United. The Premier League is said to remain Oblak’s preferred destination, but Díaz reports that no serious suitors have emerged for a player whose Atlético contract, with a €120 million release clause, runs until 2028.

Nevertheless, Atlético seem hopeful of receiving offers this summer for its greatest-ever goalkeeper, who was probably the team’s top performer when it won LALIGA in 2021 — one of four trophies Oblak has won over his 10 seasons in Madrid. If Oblak leaves, Atleti’s preferred replacement would be Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili, a player Los Che value at around €25 million.

Atletico and Valencia are expected to do business this summer, owing to the close business relationship between Valencia owner Peter Lim and Atleti CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín. Los Colchoneros already want 19-year-old center-back Cristhian Mosquera from Los Che and now appear to have registered a strong interest in Mamardashvili, a 23-year-old Georgia international who has been vital to Valencia’s unexpected push for European football in 2024/25.

I anticipate that Atlético will find it difficult to sell and subsequently upgrade on the 31-year-old Oblak, who has been the first team’s top earner for years and has earned his legendary status over several exceptional seasons of service. Oblak remains one of the finest pure shot-stoppers in Europe and reaffirmed that ability in Atleti’s Champions League round of 16 victory over Inter Milan in March, but the dissolution of a functional defense around him has left Oblak short of confidence and more prone to error — such as the mistake-filled 4-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League quarterfinals, in which Oblak shipped multiple preventable goals. He has clearly declined since his decisive contributions to the 2020/21 league-winning campaign.

Among potential Oblak replacements, Mamardashvili would be a relatively like-for-like substitute with a little more “sweeper keeper” potential. However, improving the defense around the starting goalkeeper must remain the club’s priority — otherwise, it won’t matter whether Oblak stays or goes.