Sørloth has no goals in 155 minutes and Jonathan David has made him sellable in January

Alexander Sørloth has played 155 minutes for Atlético Madrid this season and has not scored in any of them. In the summer that would have been a footnote, because he was the one center forward Diego Simeone could count on and the club treated him as untouchable. According to Marca's Isaac Suárez, it is now a January question: what was "non-negotiable" in the summer has become "a path to explore" in the winter.

The numbers explain why the mood has shifted. Sørloth strained his calf in August and the problem dragged on for more than a month, so he didn't make his season debut untill October 10. Since then he has made six appearances across LaLiga and the Champions League and, per Into the Calderon, taken three shots. He came off the bench in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Barcelona and changed nothing, and Marca wrote that his body language in that game only deepened the doubts.

What really changed his status, though, is the man who arrived on deadline day. Jonathan David was an unknown quantity when Atlético signed him at the end of the window, and he scored in each of his first three league appearances. With Julián Álvarez staying put after his failed move to Barcelona and David now trusted by the coaching staff, Sørloth is no longer the only reliable No. 9 in the squad.

There is also a money reason the door was shut in July and is open now. When Atlético bought him from Villarreal in August 2024, for a reported €32 million fixed plus up to €10 million in variables, Villarreal kept 20% of any sale made in the following two years. That clause has run out. Marca reported in July that Juventus had been willing to go as high as €40 million, a figure that would barely have produced a profit with Villarreal's cut taken off.

His contract runs to 2028, which leaves Atlético this January and next summer as the last two windows in which a sale could bring in real money. Marca adds that Sørloth himself, unhappy with a bench role he has had almost since he arrived, could welcome a move if his minutes keep falling. No offer has been reported.

It is a sharp fall for a striker with 44 goals in 113 games for the club. Sørloth is with Norway for this international break, while Atlético sit third on 28 points, five behind Barcelona.

Atlético return at Getafe on Sunday, November 22, and every minute Sørloth gets there, or doesn't get, will feed the January debate.