Inter have been scrounging the market for midfielders in recent months. It saw them sign Christian Eriksen from Tottenham this January and to add more options in Antonio Conte’s three-man midfield. They could potentially be looking for more as they still dream of winning the title if the season restarts and leading online bookmaker bettingsites24.in is backing them to do so.
One option that always goes under-the-radar though, is Udinese’s Rodrigo de Paul. For multiple seasons now, the Argentine has never got the attention he truly deserves. Many times, he’s been carrying the Friuli to relegation survival and despite interest from clubs, he has always stayed at Udinese and helped them out of trouble.
This season has been the same. De Paul has contributed to seven goals for the club in the season. Udinese have scored only 21 goals in the league and the fact that De Paul has contributed to one-third of them says a lot about the player.
The club has underperformed on XG by 6.89 and has created the second-lowest XG in the division. In the club’s three-man midfield though, De Paul has been the chief creator. He has created 4.60 shot creation actions for the club and despite playing for Udinese, that is the 11th best tally in the league. That, in itself, shows how important a player he is for the club and otherwise.
This also shows that in a better team, he can become a very good assister. It also clarified by how Udinese underperform on their XG, meaning that they don’t take advantage of what the Argentine creates for them on a regular basis.
Goal creation isn’t the only thing he is about though. De Paul has won 1.5 tackles per game this season and he is known for being a workhorse in midfield. This makes him a complete package in the heart of the park- someone who can do both jobs well, even though he thrives in the attacking bits of play.
Conte’s midfield has seen Nicolo Barella play as the box-to-box midfielder, while Marcelo Brozovic has been the deep-lying playmaker and a ball-winner. Stefano Sensi was meant to be the regular attacking midfield option but injury issues saw him get sidelined regularly. This destroyed the balance of midfield and the lack of depth came to the fore.
Eriksen hasn’t settled in and is taking time to know the new league. Roberto Gagliardini, Matias Vecino and Borja Valero are other midfield options. But Conte has been vocal about lack of depth in midfield.
After a loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, he said: “We have too limited a squad to face both Serie A and Champions League football this season. I mean limited both in terms of numbers and quality. Who do I call on? Nicolò Barella, who we signed from Cagliari? Or Stefano Sensi, who arrived from Sassuolo? I will always thank the players for giving their heart and soul, and I know that I am asking for the kind of strain that some find it difficult to deal with.”
Vecino’s future is uncertain and the same applies for Valero. If they leave, Inter will need depth in the deeper midfield positions. De Paul’s versatility makes him play in the Vecino role and he adds a lot of creativity. If Sensi and Eriksen aren’t playing, he can play slightly further forward and help Lautaro and Romelu Lukaku score goals.
He won’t be a highly expensive option either. The midfield might not be the biggest of worries and Inter may not spend high in that regard. De Paul fits into the team in this regard too.
