Why Rodrigo De Paul is the perfect replacement for Saul Niguez

The Argentinian arrived at Atletico Madrid from Udinese for a fee of €35m.

Reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid have been known to be smart recruiters ever since Diego Simeone took charge. Despite that, the club have never started the season with a superior squad compared to arch-rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. This time around, however, things have changed and Simeone's side look clear favorites to defend the title.

The €35m arrival of Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese has been hailed as their best piece of business this summer. With Saul Niguez's departure to Chelsea on loan in the last minutes of deadline day, the move has now become more vital than ever. Antoine Griezmann has also returned to the club after two seasons at Barcelona, which adds more importance to the Argentinian's arrival from Italy. Considering all the factors, here's why Rodrigo De Paul will be an ideal replacement for Saul Niguez.

A proven player at his peak

In Rodrigo De Paul, Atletico have acquired a player at his peak and it is more than obvious in this case. The 27-year-old brings tons of experience with him, being Udinese's go-to playmaker since 2016. Before making his way to the Italian Serie A, the Argentinian was at Valencia for two seasons. Having played the 2014/15 and 2015/16 for Los Murciélagos, he brings a fair bit of Spanish top flight experience with him.

In place of Saul, who has represented Atletico on more than 200 occasions, Simeone has gotten a similar player in terms of experience and caliber. In contrast, however, De Paul's individual influence has seen significant growth, while Saul has only regressed in the last two seasons. While both players are stylistically different, the influence is comparable, making the Argentinian a handful asset.

De Paul's per 90 stats, including passes into the penalty area, goal-creating actions and expected assist (xA), are better than 99% of the midfielders operating in Europe's top five leagues.

The ideal Simeone midfielder

For years, Saul has been hailed as one of the most technically gifted midfielders in modern football. There's barely anything that he lacks in terms of passing, dribbling, tackling, and collecting passes. However, this very versatility contributed to his limited role in Simeone's setup. As a result, Saul was starting as a left wing-back in the 3-5-2 system.

On the other hand, Rodrigo De Paul is someone who brings a defined set of abilities with him. He's not too quick, but can hold the ball well and draw players towards him. In addition, his gameplay is skewed towards the attacking side compared to Saul, who has more defensive prowess. In a system which has always been defensively rigid, De Paul's creativity in right central midfield might work well. However, it is worth noting that he can be more utilized in a 4-4-2 than Simeone's recent switch to 3-5-2.

A creative force that suits Simeone's target men

The likes of Luis Suarez and Joao Felix and now Griezmann, operate as target men for Atletico. These players often push higher up the pitch, receiving long balls to score off limited chances. Before their title winning season, Atletico lacked both the supplier and receiver upfront. In the triumphant season, they got a reliable target man in Luis Suarez and now have Rodrigo De Paul as the supplier.

Anybody that followed Argetina in their Copa America-winning campaign will figure out De Paul's ability to be a deep-lying creator. He crafted Angel Di Maria's final goal, launching a long ball from deep in midfield. Similar passes can be expected from him in the coming days in the Spanish capital.

Similarly, the stat regarding De Paul's passing accuracy of 73% is fairly disappointing. He lies on the fifth percentile compared to the midfielders in Europe's top five league in this metric. However, his tendency to make passes that are high in risk and in turn, high in reward fits Ateltico's conundrum. With quality players like Suarez, Felix and Griezmann, his assist and shot-creating tally should go up as things progress.

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