Focus on Levante, not Torres – Simeone

Diego Simeone insists Atletico Madrid will not be distracted by the signing of Fernando Torres before Saturday’s La Liga clash with Levante.

Atleti golden boy Torres has agreed a return to the Vicente Calderon on a loan deal from Milan and will officially complete the move when Italy’s transfer window opens on Monday.

Torres’ unveiling takes place on Sunday and he will not feature against Levante, with his second debut set to come against city rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. 

Amid all the excitement of youth team product Torres’ homecoming, Simeone’s focus remains firmly on taking maximum points against Levante.

“It is normal that you are more expectant for the arrival of Fernando, but we are thinking of Levante,” he said before stating the striker’s signing was solely for sporting reasons, with no sentiment behind it.

“Only the sporting side of me [was concerned with the signing]. I cannot imagine a different situation because I have no obligation to anyone. 

“It is just as we did everything we could to get Diego Ribas last year – because it was an absolute necessity.

“I always think of the player. Hopefully Fernando can give us everything he has and, above all, compete. We have Raul Jimenez, [Mario] Mandzukic and [Antoine] Griezmann. Internal competition will be good.”

The Spanish champions ended 2014 with a resounding 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao – Griezmann scoring a hat-trick after the break as Atleti fought back from a goal down. 

Simeone wants a repeat showing of their second-half performance against a Levante team resurgent in recent months under Lucas Alcaraz.

“I want to build on the great game that was made in part in Bilbao,” he added.

“Levante are a tough team and we know how they play. We have lots of respect. 

“Levante are a very practical team and we need to give our best and the approach from the second half of the Bilbao game to play a good game.”