Atletico Madrid expect to be competitive next season despite the exit of playmaker Arda Turan and striker Mario Mandzukic thanks to new arrivals like Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto, captain Gabi said yesterday.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone faces another rebuilding job after Turkey captain Arda joined Spanish and European champions Barcelona and Croatia international Mandzukic left for Italian champions Juventus last month.

Striker Martinez, a Colombia international, is poised to arrive from Porto, while Argentine forward Vietto has left Villarreal to join up again with coach Simeone, who gave him his professional debut at Racing Club as a 17-year-old.

Atletico finished third in La Liga last season and made it to the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition, where they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid, who beat them in the 2014 final.

“The club and the squad have always had the power and the strength to reinvent themselves season after season,” Gabi said as the players returned to training after their summer break.

“It’s true that important players are leaving but those who are coming in are performing very well and we expect to compete this year as we have been doing,” added the midfielder.

The championship in Spain is due to begin the weekend of August 22-23, with the calendar set to be drawn next Tuesday.