Athletic journalist sends message to Leeds United fans about Rodrigo De Paul
The Athletic’s Serie A journalist James Horncastle has told Leeds United fans to look away as they won’t like to hear what Rodrigo De Paul has been saying about Udinese.
De Paul, 27, was strongly linked with a move to Elland Road last year [Fabrizio Romano] when he took to Twitter to confirm he’d be interested in joining the Premier League club.
More recently, The Athletic’s Phil Hay has reported that he can see De Paul leaving Udinese in the summer but also said there’s no suggestion he’d be heading to Leeds.
Horncastle, writing on The Athletic website, has shared quotes from De Paul on Udinese, which suggest that he wouldn’t be keen on moving away from the Italian club.
Horncastle says that “Leeds fans won’t want to hear this but Rodrigo De Paul says…” before sharing the Argentine international’s words.
De Paul said: “It’s not easy to leave. Over time you become part of a family. The club gives you everything even the simplest things so footballers like me only have to think about football. There’s a great group of people here. It’s a small but pretty city. The fans get right behind you. It’s a lovely place. The club’s always a step ahead.”
No chance?
It seems as though it will take a lot to prise De Paul away from Udinese in the summer.
Whether that’s a big contract, a promise of European football, the chance to compete regularly for silverware or to join a massive club with a huge and loyal fanbase.
Leeds have the latter but they may also be able to promise a challenge for European football in the near future based on how they perform this season.
De Paul would be the kind of player to take a mid-table Premier League club into the European spots because he is simply that good.
Not many central midfielders have done as well as he has this season. According to WhoScored’s player rating system, only three players rate higher than De Paul this term and one of them is Cristiano Ronaldo.
Stats by Wyscout show that the Argentina midfielder ranks fifth in Europe’s top-five leagues for key passes completed this term [34] while he also comes in at number eight for one-v-one dribbles [240].
De Paul is superb with the ball at his feet while also having a great eye for a pass.
Patrick Bamford’s done well this season but imagine how good he would be with De Paul creating chances for fun in the midfield.
In other Leeds United news, this Whites star is set to be offered a deal that will double his wages.