Rodrigo De Paul is a name many Leeds United fans will be familiar with.
The Argentine midfielder was ever so strongly linked with the Whites back in 2020 after their promotion from the Championship, but sadly, a move never came to fruition as the midfielder ended up at Atletico Madrid where he has since shone.
De Paul’s good form in recent years has led to him earning an Argentina call-up for this World Cup squad, and while he hasn’t quite been at his best over in Qatar, he has shown precisely why he would’ve been perfect for Bielsa’s Leeds.
Indeed, when you look at Argentina’s stats page on the FIFA website, it is absolutely dominated by De Paul in all of the areas that were vital to Bielsa’s system.
Most sprints, most distance covered, most line breaks, most pressures applied. Just by looking at the numbers you can tell that De Paul is your archetypal Bielsa player, he never stops running and when he gets onto the ball he’s looking to play forwards and make something happen.
Simply put, this player was perfect for that incarnation of Leeds United.
Leeds had serious issues in their midfield over the past year or so. Before the signings of Marc Roca and Tyler Adams they were lacking any sort of depth in that position, while consistent injuries to Kalvin Phillips and Adam Forshaw left them in the lurch last season.
In the end, these midfield issues ultimately led to a loss of form, resulting in Bielsa’s sacking, but if De Paul was signed in 2020, we have to believe that these problems could’ve been circumnavigated and Bielsa would still be in a job.
Of course, it isn’t an exact science and there were a number of issues within this Leeds team last season, but we have to feel that if De Paul had been starring in the midfield at Elland Road, Bielsa’s side would never have flirted as closely with relegation as they did last term, thus, keeping the Argentine in a job for longer.
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