Saul Niguez vs Rodrigo De Paul: Should Saul Be Sold?

Saul Niguez vs Rodrigo de Paul: Will Saul leave for another club?

On July 12, 2021, Atletico Madrid signed Udinese midfielder Rodrigo de Paul. It was a big signing, dubbed the “signing of the summer”; but for Saul Niguez, it was the signing to define his destiny. The explosive midfielder was linked with top-level English clubs, but when the Argentine international joined the Mattress-Makers, it became near-official that Saul would leave his childhood club. In the 20/21 season, where Atletico Madrid won its first LaLiga title in seven years, Saul wasn’t very consistent. He struggled to break through into the first team and logged 41 appearances(his lowest since 14/15). But Saul has been a fan favorite of Atletico supporters, ever since he broke onto the scene at 19 years of age. That beckons the question: should Atleti make way for new faces, or should they retain a homegrown superstar? We will compare these two midfielders with five advanced stats, plus a breakdown on their way to the top.

Rodrigo de Paul and Saul Niguez were born six months apart, one inch separated, but their rise to the top hasn’t been nearly as close. Niguez was given a natural head start by being born in Elche, Spain. He featured at youth level for Real Madrid, before switching to the Red and White. He would stay there for the rest of his career(barring a loan to Rayo Vallecano) acclimating El Cholo’s straightforward style of play. Saul has seen international action, but by no means was a guaranteed starter.

De Paul was born in Sarandi, Argentina, and played for Racing Club’s youth system for ten years before being called up at 18 years of age. At 20 years old, he earned a trip to Valencia but was loaned back out to his previous side Racing Club. After two years, De Paul was transferred to middling club Udinese, where he blossomed both in Serie A and in the Argentine national team. De Paul emerged as a talisman for both club and country. Following stellar play in Italy’s top flight, he was sought out by Liverpool but ended up here.

These stats are from the 20/21 season.

xG

De Paul leads Niguez in expected goals 6.6 to 2.7. De Paul, an attacking midfielder should lead Saul in this category. He is a threat in front of goal and can facilitate the offense as well(10 xA to Niguez’s 1.8). De Paul can be a talisman in the middle of the pitch and wreak havoc on the opposition. Niguez, however, lacks the ability to create like De Paul.

SCA90

Again, de Paul leads Niguez in this shot-creating actions per 90 minutes(4.61 to 1.55). De Paul is not only able to coolly convert from close range, but also to set up teammates. This could come in handy on the counter, or in the box. Setting up Luis Suarez, Joao Felix, and potentially Antoine Griezmann will be a piece of cake for de Paul if he retains these numbers.

Min%

De Paul played a whopping 93.6% of his available minutes, while Niguez played 59.4%. This showcases de Paul’s reliability. Even though de Paul wasn’t in a stacked squad like Saul is, he only missed 6% of his team’s games. That is insane.

Tkl%

This is one of de Paul’s dark spots. Questions have been raised about de Paul’s defensive capability. Saul leads the percentage of tackles completed 51.4% to 32.3%. Hopefully, with practice, de Paul can be the defensive stalwart that Simeone wants him to be, but it will take a lot of practice. 

Prog

Progressive passes received are the passes that go up the pitch to a player. De Paul has gotten 153 passes upwards, while Niguez has 92. De Paul is a very reliable target to get up the pitch. 

Conclusion:

Sorry if this took so long. This was a mini-rant backed by stats to showcase that Niguez should either move on or acclimate himself to the new 3-5-2 formation. Niguez could find a home as a defender(like he did at Vallecano), could be a versatile super-sub, a mentor in the locker room. But, I just don’t see room for him in the middle of the park. He’ll have tough competition from Koke, Marcos Llorente, and Rodrigo de Paul, not to mention Thomas Lemar, Hector Herrera, and Geoffrey Kondogbia.

Author's Note

Do you think I rambled too much? If so, how do I fix it?