While Angel Correa remains a massive talent, who possesses all the attributes to one day be an elite player, he still remains a work in progress.
The man that's largely been used as a substitute since joining Atletico Madrid roughly three years ago has often struggled for consistency, which, in fairness, has had much to do with the fact he's regularly forced to come off the bench but also down to him not fullly grasping his opportunities.
Indeed, his inability to become a regular starter within Diego Simeone's competitive squad even led him to consider leaving the club in the summer, with Liverpool and Newcastle United among the interested parties, before him ultimately opting to remain in the Spanish capital.
"It is up to the coach, I train to be available to play 90 minutes. I thought about [leaving] many times. It is difficult, I feel like I want to play always and I prepare myself for that. It is difficult to get used to just playing a short while, you must get your head ready," he commented.
"Now I am getting the chance to play more, and I hope to take advantage of that."
Coming on in the second half of Atletico's La Liga opening draw with newly promoted Girona to score and rescue his team was certainly a positive way to start the season. "Angel remains an exciting prospect. We are waiting for him to find consistency over time," Simeone mused after the 2-2 draw with Girona.
"He can change games for you, and not all players can do that. We have spoken with him in preseason. This is an important year for him, he must take another step. His goal [at Girona] showed what he can do -- he has pace, turns well, dribbles, shoots, is a very complete player. We already know he can make the difference coming off the bench, but he must play consistently for 90 minutes."
Then, following Antoine Griezmann's suspension, he was afforded the chance to start the next two league fixtures. And, for the most part, he did a fine job of endearing himself to his manager by putting on a sterling outing in Los Rojiblancos' 5-1 dismantling of Las Palmas and by putting in an encouraging shift vs. Valencia.
Although he was relegated back to the bench for his team's Champions League encounter with AS Roma, his 32 minute cameo once again gave his manager a stark reminder of why he's such a special player. Offering far greater dynamism and unpredictability than the man he replaced, Luciano Vietto, Correa demonstrated his underrated spatial awareness, plus his sublime technical ability and pace.
Moreover, the way he dovetailed his movement and combined so well with Griezmann was another positive, which crucially manipulated Roma's deep defensive block and made Atleti look far more dangerous.
Regular head checks saw him gain a fine mental imagery of his surroundings so he could then receive possession in an ideal body shape to then turn and run at his adversaries too. The two footed 22-year-old's speed and timing of his runs in behind caused further problems for Eusebio Di Francesco's backline, and vitally drew defenders out of their compact shape to mark him.
After another influential body of work, it's little wonder why many are now calling for him to replace the struggling Vietto on a permanent basis. Indeed, this belief was only strengthened by his terrific impact in Atleti's 1-0 win over Malaga on Saturday, a match he deservedly started, where he supplied the assist for Griezmann's winner to fittingly cap off a well rounded display.
All things considered, Atletico will just be grateful he eventually opted to stay and fight for his place, especially considering their current transfer ban, for no matter what the circumstances are when he takes the field, he always has the potential to produce a moment of pure magic to tilt the scales in his team's favour.
