Transfer News: Rodrigo De Paul rejects Tottenham Hotspur offer
According to Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Daily Express), Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo De Paul has declined the chance to sign with Premier League powerhouse Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
De Paul, who transferred from Serie A team Udinese to Atletico Madrid last summer, has established himself as a regular member of the team. In his first season, he played 48 times and made four goals and two assists.
The 28-year-old is a regular in the Argentina national team lineup; he has 41 national caps and was a member of the squad that won the Copa America last year.
De Paul possesses many of the qualities Antonio Conte looks for in a central midfield midfielder, including tenacity and technical ability in equal measure. For that matter, Diego Simeone.
Just take a look at how he played in last summer’s Copa America final victory for Argentina over Brazil. A performance that combines fire and delicacy. De Paul is a natural leader on top of being both a ballplayer and a ball winner.
Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, and Clement Lenglet have already joined Tottenham during the summer transfer window. Djed Spence is also close to joining the north London club.
De Paul’s respectable first season in Spain would have surely been noticed by Tottenham Hotspur. It is believed that the north London behemoths made an effort to lure De Paul to the team during the current transfer window.
But, the 28-year-old seems to have rejected Spurs’ as well as Fiorentina’s approach because he is content at Atletico Madrid and wants to stay there. Makes sense, given it hasn’t been long since his move to Wanda Metropolitano.
However, this apparent interest in De Paul is somewhat surprising from Tottenham as the Spurs have already strengthened their midfield with the addition of Bissouma, as was mentioned earlier.
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Furthermore, Conte has Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp, and Rodrigo Bentancur at his disposal. Rodrigo Bentancur also joined the team in January. After playing in the preseason friendly earlier this week, Pape Matar Sarr has returned from his loan assignment and could possibly be a viable alternative for Conte to consider.
Thus, despite the departures of Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele, Tottenham still have enough depth in the centre of the park. On top of that, De Paul wouldn’t come cheap following his heroic display for Argentina in recent matches. But, spending such an amount doesn’t seem necessary for the Spurs as we already have a strong squad.
