Atlético faces a summer where the priority is to maintain the project and the base of the league champion squad. That the essential pieces feel comfortable, be reinforced in the positions where there may be exits, as in the search for a substitute for Oblak if Grbic leaves and an alternative to Luis Suárez at the leading edge and with the icing on the cake in the shape of Rodrigo de Paul.
The Argentine midfielder is playing the Copa América waiting for Atlético to complete its incorporation, something that is closest after the capital increase, and announce your signing. For now De Paul has already started following the rojiblanco club on social media. Holder for Scaloni, who gave him rest in the last commitments with his selection already classified for the quarterfinals of the Copa América, the midfielder left good proof of his football growth in the victory against Uruguay, where Giménez, Suárez and Torreira, three of the athletic champions of the League, were measured.
That De Paul is a completely different player from the one seen in LaLiga during his time at Valencia is a resounding fact. He arrived at the team in 2014, very young as an inside or a dribbling midfielder, but he has been gaining maturity, stripes in a more focused position and has become one of the great stars of the league Italian during his five seasons in Udinese. At 27 years old, he is in his best moment of form, and Atlético will have a total player capable of contributing in all facets of the game, with a taste for possession and the ball, but not afraid to roll up their sleeves and work in defense for the team.
De Paul finished the league with 36 games played, nine goals and nine assists, starting as a midfielder. You only need to delve into his statistics to understand the reasons why the Argentine has conquered Andrea Berta and a Simeone with whom he could play an important role, multiplying the internal competition of the team in that strip of the field. De Paul finished the course as the fourth highest scoring midfielder in Serie A, a list headed by Mkhitaryan and his 13 goals, and was the sixth footballer with the most assists in a virtue led by Malinovskyi (12 goal passes) and followed by Lukaku (11).
Using Opta data, Rodrigo de Paul's quality jump can be seen in the ball exit and also in collective work. With 72 good centers to the area, the Argentine finished as the third best player in that facet in the Italian league, getting 34 good assists from set pieces where two of them ended in goal, a section in lateral fouls and corners in which it can also add a lot for Atlético. If De Paul has been adding many characteristics to his game, he has not lost his winger. He is able to cross the midfield lines many times through driving and dribbling. So much so that it ended as the player with the most good dribbles in Serie A, with 122, and well above the second, Messias Junior with 105.
Comparison between De Paul and Saúl.
Besoccer
But, if he is one of the great highlights in the competition in the offensive section, appearing as the Twenty-fourth player with the most good passes completed (1,465) in Serie A with 79.79% of success with his deliveries, he has also shone on the defensive side. De Paul is the footballer in the Italian league with the most wins, with 294 (followed by Belotti with 292), and the tenth midfielder with the most recoveries with 207 (The list is dominated by Kessié with 269). A total player who could complete the midfield that this season shone with Koke, Llorente and Lemar as main actors and Saúl, Herrera, Kondogbia and Torreira in the bedroom. The Elche could come out, although De Paul's characteristics are complementary, shining to a greater extent in all aspects of ball exit, passing, assists and combinatorial play and seeing himself overcome in the passing game and defensive aspects such as interceptions. The most comfortable position for De Paul appears playing with a pivot from behind and with the ability to deploy and step on the rival area.
The Argentine is very close to joining Atlético (lack of official status) for an amount that would be between 35 and 38 million (its value in Transfermarkt is 38 million) as one of the players who have had the best reconversion in recent years. An unstoppable evolution, growing a lot in the understanding of football, in the character as captain of Udinese, in his ability to move the team and working under the group and Atlético has been the fastest to get his services. With an Italian passport, De Paul has undoubtedly been one of the big names in Serie A, and He wants to return to LaLiga to make his mark under the orders of his compatriot Simeone.