Atletico Madrid have completed the € 35 million signing of Argentine international midfielder Rodrigo de Paul, with Diego Simeone having probably acquired the ideal creator for his philosophy.
De Paul, 27, has signed a five-year contract with Los Colchoneros and has the opportunity to complete an unfinished business in Spain.
The midfielder has spent two years with Valencia since June 2014 but suffered an unsuccessful spell, failing to win over Nuno Espirito Santo and then Gary Neville, which allowed him to return on loan to the former Racing club in February 2016.
De Paul joined Racing’s youth academy and made his leap to the senior squad the year after Simeone left the club for Atleti.
Following his brief loan return to Racing, Valencia sold De Paul to Udinese, where he sought to recover the form that had previously seen him identified as one of South America’s most promising young players.
He has been a starter for all of his five years in Serie A, but has enjoyed his finest season of all in 2020-21, displaying a skill set that is perfectly suited to the needs of a Simeone team.
During Simeone’s 10 years as Atletico manager, his creative player signings have tended to be hit and miss, with a common understanding that his intense demands both in training and during matches can sometimes stifle more fickle talent than they are not used to such workloads.
But De Paul, who feels comfortable both in the center and on the outside, has proven he is up to the challenge and is enjoying the chance to play under Simeone.
“I am very happy to have the opportunity to work under Simeone’s commands,” he told Atleti’s website. “First, for the kind of football manager he is; one of the best of all time.
“I love football, it is part of my daily life and having a coach of Simeone’s caliber at the helm is a privilege.
“Plus, it fills me with patriotic pride. I will have fun being under his command because I grew up watching him play for the Argentine national team ”.
Providing creativity is De Paul’s daily bread, with his 82 key passes in 2020-21 only surpassed by Hakan Calhanoglu (98) in Serie A.
Of these occasions, 34 have come from set pieces, highlighting his ability from dead ball situations and placing him fourth in the Italian top flight.
Only five players received more assists than his nine, but all of them far exceeded their modest expected assists records, which ranged from 3.4 to 6.7. De Paul topped the charts for expected assists with 10.3 xA, proof that his assists reflected the quality of his serve rather than him being lucky or benefiting from unusually good finishes from teammates.
Yet the area that highlights a particular compatibility with Atleti is the fact that they have won more duels (294) than anyone else in Serie A in 2020-21.
Combine this with his league leader completed dribbles (122) and paints the picture of a hardworking player who also possesses the quality to take his team to the front foot.
He will join Atleti after a brief stop after playing a pivotal role in Argentina’s recent America’s Cup success, in which he secured the decisive assist for Angel Di Maria’s goal that secured the title.