Matt Doherty is delighted with his move to Atletico Madrid.

After being released from his contract by Tottenham yesterday, the Irish defender signed for Atletico.

Doherty said, “I am very excited. Everything has happened very quickly, but when you realise that an opportunity like this arises, it is extremely difficult to reject it and refuse to play for a club like this.

“I work on the wing and the right lane. If you look at my career in recent years, I like to go forward, be involved in both defence and attack. I like helping the team to score goals and provide assists, but I know that my main job as a defender is to try to keep our clean sheet."

On coach Diego Simeone, he continued: “I am very excited. Just from what I've heard from people like (Kieran) Trippier about his training, I know I'm going to have a lot of fun here. Just seeing how he plays his team makes me curious about how he prepares for games and training sessions, and learning about a new way of working.

“There are 19 LaLiga games left. There is still a long way to go, we want to finish as well as possible and give it our all.

“You can feel the atmosphere when you watch the matches. I see many live and many people write to me saying: 'You are going to play in front of these fans, it is going to be very special'. I agree, it's going to be something very special and I can't wait to do it."