The Sergio Agüero dilemma has proved challenging for Atlético’s new sporting director Jose Luis Caminero.
Upon his arrival at Atleti, exactly a week after Agüero announced he wanted to leave the club, Caminero assured fans he would personally speak to Kun and try to convince him to stay.
“Agüero is still an Atlético player and my intention is for him to continue,” he said at his presentation at the Vicente Calderón.
“I want to talk to him personally to get to know what he has in mind and then we’ll make a decision.”
It’s been over a month since the sporting director was formally unveiled and made that promise, yet he admitted to COPE on Monday that he still hasn’t been able to exchange words with Kun directly.
“I have not spoken with Aguero,” he told the Spanish radio station. “I have spoken to his representatives and they’ve told me that he is concentrating solely on Copa América.
“As soon as the tournament is over I will talk to him.”
While Rojiblanco officials sit back and scratch their bellies waiting for Argentina to be eliminated from the South American competition, our direct rivals are busy reining in quality signings – perhaps most notably Valencia’s snatching up of long-time Atleti target Pablo Piatti last week.
Caminero needs to get more aggressive with Kun and his representatives, as further delay could be disastrous for us.
Contrary to reports across Europe, the sporting director denied that Juventus and Manchester City have submitted bids for Agüero, assuring “we have received no formal offers for Kun” while also insisting that the club is counting on the attacker to join the squad upon the conclusion of Argentina’s Copa América participation.
Hours after Caminero gave his interview, Agüero started in the Argentines’ final group stage match against Costa Rica.
The attacker ended up bagging a brace in the Albiceleste’s 3-0 victory and helped to extend his national team’s life span by at least five more days, as they are through to the quarter-finals.
Kun has scored three of his national side’s four goals in the tournament, impressive, especially considering he has spent half of the competition on the bench.
It’s hard to imagine a club won’t come knocking at the door with his €45 million buyout clause in hand now. While I agree that keeping Kun at the Calderón would be our best move of the summer, I just don’t see it likely.
With pre-season training beginning all around la Liga and our Europa League qualifiers right around the corner, time is of the essence.
In the event that Argentina qualify for the Copa América final, a match scheduled to take place on the 24th of July, the standstill with Aguero could last almost another fortnight.
I think Caminero should fly to Argentina as soon as possible, knock on Kun’s hotel door and get a definitive answer from him.
How long can the Griezmanns, Osvaldos, Valeros and Rossis afford to sit around and wait while Kun’s situation gets resolved?
How would you evaluate Caminero’s first month in charge?