Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro De Paul.
Lionel Scaloni held a press conference where it was stated that he will stay on as coach of the Argentina national team until the 2030 World Cup. At the same press conference, Scaloni spoke about the younger players and Lionel Messi retiring. He also commented on Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes with the Argentina national team. Here is what he had to say:
“I spoke with De Paul in the last call-up, I told him what I think. He gave us a lot and the door is not closed.
“We need the best version of him. He knows that if he is at 100% and competes, he will be there but now we want to sew other guys in that position.
“Paredes is the best central midfielder that there could be for the national team but he has to maintain the highest level.
“It’s not a question of waiting for his sanction to end, if he is well, he will be in the list.”
It’s been a while since we saw the best version of De Paul, he’s not getting any younger. Enzo, Mac, Palacios and even Barco are in much better shape currently and can play his role in midfield. Paredes can still be useful but his long suspension can also allow us to test Perrone, Equi and Palacios in the pivot role instead. We need more central mids in the pipeline though, genuine box-to-box types, we have a bunch of 5s and 10s. Perhaps Andrada, Saralegui, Domenech, Kalinger can develop into genuine high level 8s.