Name: Thomas Partey
Club: Atletico Madrid
Date of Birth: 13 June 1993
Position: Defensive midfielder
THOMAS PARTEY – HIS CAREER SO FAR
As is quite often the case, Diego Simeone finds good defensive players and then turns them into world-class superstars. Pretty much the same thing can be said about Thomas Partey, Atletico Madrid’s academy graduate that had to work hard to get where he is right now. For the 27-year-old defensive midfielder, it all started back home in Ghana where he played for the local Odometah FC in their youth ranks.
But already by 2011, a big club came calling as the youngster was showing a lot of promise. Atletico Madrid signed him up and then, a year after that, he joined their academy as a very young lad. Still, despite the talent he clearly possessed, it took quite some time to become as established as he is right now. From 2013 and all the way to 2015, he was officially part of their B side but would only manage to tally 33 appearances for them, scoring four goals in the process as well.
This is mostly because he was sent out on two different loans in that same time period. First, in 2013, to Mallorca and then, in 2014, to Almeria. Still, both stints ended up being quite productive for Partey, giving him both adequate game time and a stage to fully develop and break out of his shell. At the former club, he would register 38 appearances with five goals and two assists, while at the latter, 32 appearances with two goals on the side.
Needless to say, upon his eventual return to Atletico Madrid, he was a much more developed player, ready to take on the next challenge in his career. The first team bow arrived in November 2015 when he came on as a substitute in a 1-0 win against Espanyol. This was indeed a start of a special journey that is still on an upward spiral. The 27-year-old penned a new contract with Rojiblancos on 14 February 2017, tying him down at the club until at least 2022, but that was subsequently extended to 2023 in 2018.
And now, he has already played in 185 games for Atletico Madrid, even scoring 16 goals and providing 12 assists despite that being far from his role on the pitch. But with his rapidly increasing popularity and status, other clubs are bound to be interested and this is especially true for some Premier League titans.
Partey is in his prime and could very well be making a big switch rather soon.
TRANSFER LATEST
According to the latest transfer news, Arsenal are quite interested in securing the 27-year-old’s signature in the ongoing summer transfer window. Of course, this was all before their official statement outlining some financial difficulties at the club. Needless to say, if the Gunners really wanted to go after Partey, they would have to splash the cash.
As of right now, no other Arsenal transfer news or transfer rumours are saying they won’t go for the midfielder but it could indeed be a slightly more complicated deal to get over the line. Atletico Madrid don’t exactly want to part with a player of his calibre but with the right offer and some persuasion, everything is possible.
PLAYER PROFILE
Partey is a defensive midfielder by trade and as such, he often acts both as a facilitator and a destroyer. Some of his best qualities are certainly his ball-retention skills and the ability to snuff out danger even before it happens. He’s usually one of the deeper-positioned players in the Atletico Madrid squad but also has enough technical quality to start transitions and even more importantly, play out of the opposition’s press.
At 27 years of age, he is now in his prime and playing some of the best football of his career. Of course, just being part of Simeone’s system, he has exceptional work-rate but can even offer support going forward when needed. It is very difficult to pinpoint the exact area of his operation because he is mostly all over the pitch, which is also one of his best qualities.
He can be insecure on the ball at times but that’s a minor blip on an otherwise stellar resume and something that can certainly be ironed out in the immediate future.