Four months on from his eye-catching move to Atletico Madrid, Matt Doherty looks set to find himself on the hunt for a new club this summer. In and out of the Tottenham team at the beginning of the season as he battled with Emerson Royal for the right wing-back berth, the Republic of Ireland international dropped a further place down the pecking order in January after Pedro Porro's arrival at the club.
The move for the highly-rated Spaniard opened the door for Doherty to exit the Lilywhites to link up with Atleti on loan, only for Spurs to then announce a shock contract termination after a FIFA ruling in regards to the amount of players a club can send out on loan threatened to scupper his dream move. Following a mutual agreement to end his Spurs contract early, Doherty signed on the dotted line in the Spanish capital until the end of the current season.
"It’s going well for me in Spain. It’s a different experience completely, different culture, different preparation for games. I’m enjoying my time there even though I’m not playing that much," Doherty told the Independent back in March.
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"The reason I left was… well, initially it was just to go on loan for the rest of the season and then obviously we had the problems with too many loans, so then it was a case of I couldn’t really say no to that type of experience and a manager of his calibre."
He added: "I didn’t have long to think about it, but the time I did have, I just couldn’t say no to that opportunity.
"I am there until the end of the season and I am just using it as a learning experience. I am improving by training with world-class players every day. I am using the six months I have there to try and get better, to try and understand the game better and improve my overall game."
A dream move for the player and one he simply couldn't turn down, the 31-year-old's switch to Diego Simeone's team just hasn't gone to plan at all. While of course he will believe his game has improved training with players such as Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo de Paul on a daily basis, the game time he desperately wants hasn't been there for him.
To date, Doherty has only made two appearances for his new club since his transfer deadline day switch. Both of those came off the bench as he was introduced for the final 12 minutes of their 6-1 win over Sevilla in March before getting four minutes in the recent 5-1 triumph at home to Cadiz.
The Irishman has very much had a watching brief during his time with Atleti as he has made the substitutes' bench in all 16 La Liga games following his switch but only featured twice. He is once again available to Simeone for Wednesday's league clash against Espanyol but whether or not minutes come his way is another matter.
The Atletico Madrid boss has kept faith with Argentina World Cup winner Nahuel Molina on the right, thus leaving Doherty watching on from the bench in the process and having to get the majority of his football for Republic of Ireland during the international break. Currently in second and one point and one place ahead of fierce rivals Real Madrid, Atleti have three games remaining to try and finish the campaign behind champions Barcelona.
Facing challenging encounters against Champions League contenders Real Sociedad and Villarreal in the last two games as well as trying to hold off Real Madrid in the fight for second, Doherty could well have already played his final game for Atleti unless an unexpected opportunity arises. Even if he is to depart the Spanish giants having only played twice, it will still have been an incredible experience for him at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium despite a lack of match action.
Having found himself in and out of the team over the past three seasons, Doherty's next decision is going to be vital in terms of helping him get his career back on track. Certainly going to be helped from working with Simeone on a daily basis, it's now regular football the player needs.
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