It has been a rather mixed start to the 2022/23 campaign for Tottenham's loanees. As is always the case when it comes to the club's loan players, some hit the ground running and others have to make do with limited minutes.
Summer signing Destiny Udogie is one of those to have made a huge impression after his return to Udinese, with Dane Scarlett and Joe Rodon also starting very strongly at Portsmouth and Rennes respectively. On the other hand, Tanguy Ndombele has played a bit-part role since linking up with Napoli and Harry Winks has yet to take to the pitch for Sampdoria.
In the case of Sergio Reguilon, the Spaniard finds himself in a similar boat to Winks having not played a single minute since his return to Spain. Joining Tottenham from Real Madrid in September 2020, the left-back has headed back to Madrid but this time moved to cross-city rivals Atletico on a season-long loan deal.
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Despite his ties to Los Blancos, the 25-year-old claimed in his first press conference as an Atleti player that it was such an easy decision for him once he heard about the La Liga side's interest in him.
"My agent called me, he conveyed to me the interest of Atletico Madrid, and in my head it was a boom. I said directly: yes, do your best to come here," he revealed, as reported by Spanish publication AS.
"There was interest from big clubs, that's true, but as soon as I heard about the possibility of coming here I said: please, do it as soon as possible. In fact, everything was done very quickly, in 48 hours everything was solved.
"For me it was a moment of great happiness, I remember telling my parents, they were super excited, and for me that has no price."
Since his switch to the Metropolitano Stadium, Atletico have played five matches but injury has stopped Reguilon from taking his place in Diego Simeone's matchday squad. Towards the end of April, Conte confirmed ahead of Tottenham's match against Brentford that the Spaniard was suffering with a bit of groin pain but he would be available from the bench if required.
An unused substitute in the 0-0 draw, the groin issue kept Reguilon out of the final five games of the 2021/22 campaign and he has yet to feature since. Following his move to Atleti, the Spanish side revealed in an official statement that the player had undergone pubalgia surgery a week prior to his loan deal to try and fix the problem.
Since then, Reguilon has had to be incredibly patient as he builds his way back to full fitness in hope of making a big impression at his new club. He did point out during his unveiling press conference that his recovery from the injury is "very advanced" and he is looking to be back very soon, though.
"What worries me most right now is to be back as soon as possible," he admitted. "The rest doesn't bother me at all. I'm doing very well with the recovery from the injury, very advanced, from what the doctors tell me."
With the first international break of the season now in full swing, Reguilon is one of 10 players remaining at Atleti's training base over the next fortnight. One of four who are injured at present, he will be intent on working his way back to fitness and impressing Simeone in the process once he can join in full training.
In and out of the Tottenham team at the start of 2022 with Ryan Sessegnon taking his place in Conte's preferred XI, what Reguilon needs right now is regular football. Opportunities will certainly be there for him once he is fit enough as Atleti have 12 games coming up before the 2022 World Cup commences, with an away trip to Sevilla and a potential reunion with former Spurs teammate Erik Lamela first up.
Not the ideal start to his loan spell back in Madrid, the next eight weeks are going to be crucial for the player as he aims to get himself match fit and earn a place in Simeone's first XI. With a handful of Tottenham's loanees excelling at their new clubs so far, Reguilon will be intent on following in their footsteps as he looks to end a frustrating year on a high and start 2023 as he means to go on.
If he can do that then Tottenham's task of selling him permanently next summer will become that bit easier as both parties look to go their separate ways.
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