A teenage midfielder who was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United prior to the January transfer window can certainly not be accused of lacking self-confidence.
But there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance and, after eventually sealing a £22 million move to La Liga instead, the 19-year-old is not foolish enough to have been taken aback by his lack of first-team opportunities under Diego Simeone.
“I knew that I would not play everything, and that I would have to adapt,” Arthur Vermeeren, as mature off the pitch as he is on it, tells DAZN, the former Royal Antwerp ace left on the bench yet again during Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 win at Villarreal last time out.
“I’m working on that now. The language, the culture, the weather, the football, and so on. I feel things are getting better and better. But it is now up to me to show that I am ready.”
Manchester United looked at Arthur Vermeeren
Still, while Vermeeren is losing no sleep yet, the same cannot be said of those back home in Belgium, pundits and fans alike fearing a repeat of thatsorry Joao Felix situation.
Felix was one of the most coveted youngsters in European football when he swapped Benfica for Atletico in 201. But it quickly became apparent that life under the firebrand Simeone did not suit him.
Vermeeren, scouted by Manchester United after helping Royal Antwerp win the Belgian league for the first time since 1957, has played only three times so far in the Spanish capital. A grand total of 83 minutes (Daily Mail).
‘Nightmare’ is the word Voetbal24 use to describe Vermeeren’s first two months at the Wanda Metropolitano.
“Take Vermeeren,” Wim de Coninck, the former Royal Antwerp hero, tells Sporza, drawing worrying comparisons with the struggles of fellow Belgian Charles de Ketelaere after leaving Club Brugge for AC Milan.
“He played an incredible match against Barcelona with Antwerp (in the Champions League group-stages). I don’t see any of that anymore.
“He even reminds me a bit of Charles De Ketelaere in his first year at Milan.”
Only 83 minutes of La Liga action so far
In truth, it feels far too early to panic. This is not the first time Simeone has opted to ease a young player in steadily. He did the same, after all, with one Antoine Griezmann after the Frenchman’s arrival from Real Sociedad a decade ago.
And who is to say Vermeeren would have found game time any easier at Manchester United? Erik ten Hag is certainly buying into the ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ approach but even he would surely have reservations about starting Vermeeren alongside an 18-year-old in Kobbie Mainoo.
Perhaps the time to worry will be when Vermeeren himself is expressing concerns. For the time being, however, the Jupiler League’s Young Player of the Year appears happy to bide his time.