Atletico Madrid will challenge for La Liga this season, says Jackson Martinez

Atletico Madrid’s newest signing believes Diego Simeone‘s side will once again be challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid for the La Liga title this season.

Atletico were crowned champions of Spain on the final day of the 2013-14 campaign. However, after a summer which saw the key departures of Diego Costa, Filipe Luis and Thibaut Courtois to Chelsea; and the arrival of nine new players to the club, Simeone’s side finished two places and twelves points worse off in La Liga last season.

Because of their financial strength and global reach, many expected Barcelona and Real Madrid to reclaim their positions as the top two clubs in the Primera Division.

But Atletico has continued to make progress, increase its global brand and strengthened its squad in the transfer market.

The arrivals of Luciano Vietto (Villarreal), Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (Monaco), Stefan Savic (Fiorentina) and Jackson Martinez (Porto) – Filipe Luis is on the verge of re-joining the club as well – have given the club supporters reason to believe that Los Rojoblancos will once again be challenging for the La Liga title this season

This past weekend, Jackson Martinez was officially unveiled as an Atletico player at the Vicente Calderon in front of approximately 10,000 supporters, and the club’s latest signing believes his new squad possesses enough quality to challenge for the league title this season.

“I feel that I’m at a team with high demands and hunger for success,” the Colombia international told the media before his unveiling.

“The training staff demand the maximum and I feel we are building a great squad.

“[Fernando] Torres, Vietto and [Antoine] Griezmann are spectacular players. They’ve evolved as players and Vietto is a player with a great future ahead.

“Atletico are certainly candidates to challenge for the title. The squad is being really well-strengthened.”