Latest transfer rumours: Should Leicester pursue Rodrigo De Paul?

Leicester City’s signing of Timothy Castagne isn’t hindering the club from further investments. The Foxes are potentially interested in signing another player from the Italian Serie A, this time it’s Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese.

I’ll be the first one to mention Leicester City’s depth in midfield, as Brendan Rodgers is fortunate to have a plethora of options at his disposal, but none have the level of versatility that the rumoured Argentinian possesses.

With the Foxes’ current personnel, there’s defined roles for each player. The defensive-midfield slot is either Wilfred Ndidi’s or Nampalys Mendy, with Hamza Choudhury occasionally seeing out games there. In box-to-box midfielders (or known as “8’s”), the Foxes have Youri Tielemans, Dennis Praet, and I expect Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to be included as well.

Finally, there’s the attacking-midfield role (or known as a “10”) that is predominantly occupied by James Maddison, with Ayoze Pérez ending the season playing in this position due to the former’s absence.

In Rodrigo De Paul, you have a player who’s played across all three of these positions – albeit his preferred role is the “8”, which is a flexibility in positions the Foxes don’t currently have in their midfield. This shouldn’t justify signing the 26-year-old, as it’s reported that Leeds United have offered £31m for his services and I feel this sort of investment would be best used elsewhere.

Exceptional, but unnecessary for Leicester City

However, there’s an undeniable quality to De Paul, that would make him an exceptional signing. His positional flexibility is a byproduct of his qualities both offensively and defensively, the Argentine does perform slightly better in his attacking statistics, but defensively he’s also very impressive.

Throughout Udinese’s 2019/20 Serie A season, De Paul completed 71 key passes, which ranked him in sixth place for the entire league. He also completed 4.2 passes into the final third per 90, and had 137 shot-creating actions over the season – again, ranking him in sixth place for the league. This is very impressive for a player residing in a club that finished the season in 13th place, without the Argentinian’s creative industry, I doubt I Bianconeri (The White and Blacks) would’ve stayed in the Serie A.

On the flip-side, his defensive contribution is equally as important. De Paul averaged 2.01 tackles per 90 – which, for reference, is better than Ben Chilwell, James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Christian Fuchs, and Jonny Evans in the same metric last season. This isn’t to say he’s defensive-minded like Evans or Chilwell, it’s merely an outline of his proficiency in reclaiming possession.

Truth be told, I think Rodrigo De Paul is expected to leave Udinese this season, as he’s got the credentials to play for a top-tier club in Europe, and I think the rumour-mill has suggested Leicester City (a club with European football) are a club sufficient enough for his services. I’m also of the belief that Brendan Rodgers is a fan of the Argentinian, but I’m unsure of the likelihood this deal actually goes ahead.

As mentioned earlier, Leeds United have bid £31m to acquire De Paul and with a market value of £27m, I estimate it will take a deal of close to £40m to secure his signature. With the Foxes already splashing that level of cash on Tielemans just last season, and with ample depth in the middle of the park, I’d suggest using the supposed funds mentioned for this transfer on either a centre-back, a left-footed winger, or a striker.