Speaking recently on a video posted by Leeds United Live on Facebook, Beren Cross discussed the club’s interest in Udinese midfielder, Rodrigo De Paul.
Following a summer transfer window in which De Paul was heavily linked with a move to Marcelo Bielsa’s side, the midfielder has gone on to impress for Udinese so far this season, scoring one goal over his seven Serie A appearances, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.24 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the Italian top flight.
However, according to Cross, who was talking on a video posted by Leeds United Live, the £27 million-rated 26-year-old is keen on a move away from Udinese, before the journalist went on to give his opinion on whether or not he felt Leeds could reignite their interest in the player in the January transfer window.
He said: “I think the club had shown a little bit of interest in him, nothing more than an initial conversation with Udinese. [Andrea] Radrizzani, of course, has been on record as saying that they were interested in De Paul, but it just didn’t look like it was going to happen.
“In the end, it actually came across as quite desperate seeing his social media responses, which is not the done thing by professional footballers. So clearly, he wants out of Udinese and saw Leeds as a leverage for him to get out of the club.
“He’s still a very, very good footballer and clearly [Victor] Orta likes him and rates him because that’s why they made the initial contact, but I would be surprised if that [will] happen in January.
“If he’s playing for Udinese, Udinese aren’t going to let him go on the cheap. So, I think definitely, until the summer, I wouldn’t expect that one to move, no.”
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TIF Thoughts on Beren Cross’ comments regarding the club’s interest in Rodrigo De Paul…
From Cross’ comments, it is clear that the journalist does not expect Leeds to make a move for De Paul in January, however, he does suggest that something could happen with the player next summer.
However, with Udinese said to be demanding £40 million for the midfielder last summer, if De Paul’s performances continue to be as impressive as they have been so far this season, it is not difficult to imagine the Serie A side demanding the same, if not more, than they were after for the player in the last transfer window.
So, in our opinion, if Leeds are indeed interested in making a move for the 26-year-old, it would be wise to do so sooner rather than later, in order to reduce the possibility of his market value increasing too dramatically.