COLUMN: Atletico Madrid’s secret weapon arrives just in time for Champions League clash with Inter

Before Pablo Barrios this season, the last under-21 player to log 1,000+ minutes in a single campaign for Atletico Madrid was Joao Felix in 2019-20. As you’ll no doubt recall, that was season one for Felix in Madrid following his €126m move, and the dawn of what many thought would be a new superstar of the game.

In other words, it usually requires pretty unique circumstances for Diego Simeone to give prominence to young footballers. Given the lack of examples in recent times, when a player like Barrios does emerge it’s a pretty good clue that he’s been marked as an exceptional case, and that your interest should be piqued.

Perhaps the most important caveat of Barrios’ rise this season is that it’s come against the backdrop of disruption. He missed a month through injury between September and October, while a meniscus tear suffered against Feyenoord in November then kept him out for just short of two months.

In a campaign where it seems like Simeone hasn’t been entirely sure what to do with the third central midfield spot (accompanying Koke and Rodrigo De Paul), a healthy Barrios would have been in line for more prominence than he’s already had. And with over 1,000 minutes to his name in such circumstances, there’s every chance he would have been a fixture in midfield by now, minus those injury setbacks.

That Barrios tends to be involved whenever possible isn’t merely down to ability. Of course, it helps, but the growing matter of compatibility between player and team is a big factor too. As his talent comes to the fore, there’s now (conveniently) a greater need for it than at any other time in the Simeone era.

Take their recent 1-1 draw against Real Madrid, for example. Though Atletico clearly intended to approach the game