Monday, July 12, 2021 at 19:32• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 19:36

Atlético Madrid has secured the services of Rodrigo de Paul. The Spanish superpower will officially announce the arrival of the 27-year-old midfielder on Monday. According to Fabrizio Romano, Atlético will transfer 35 million euros to Udinese for the services of the Argentine, who won the Copa América with his country on Sunday as a basic player.

“I am very happy to join the champions of La Liga and I am aware of the responsibility that comes with it,” De Paul said on his new club’s website. “It is a big step in my football career. The timing is right, just after winning the Copa América. This gives me the strength to live up to all expectations. I am a football fanatic and because of my experience in Spanish football I know Atlético Madrid very well, not counting all the friends and colleagues I have in Spain.”

De Paul has been one of Udinese’s star players for years and is known for his high return. Although the South American operates centrally from midfield, he racked up an impressive 9 goals and 11 assists in 36 official matches in Italy last season. Udinese picked up De Paul from Valencia in 2016 for just three million euros, making a huge gain over the midfielder. In total, De Paul finishes in 184 official appearances for the Italian club, in which he scored 34 times and delivered 36 assists.

De Paul also made an excellent impression at the Copa América last month: he had an undisputed starting spot and only got rest in the last two group matches, when Argentina was already almost assured of the next round. On Sunday, De Paul won the final against Brazil (1-0) with his country, with which the Argentines won the first major prize since 1993. De Paul is now at 28 international matches.

De Paul is the first summer purchase from Atlético Madrid, which already picked up twenty-year-old Marcos Paulo transfer-free from Fluminense in January. according to marca Atlético is taking the departure of Santiago Arias and Sime Vrsaljko into account. In that case, the Spaniards will look for a new stand-in for right-back Kieran Trippier. The club is also lurking on a purchase like Luis Suárez, who came over from Barcelona last year for only six million euros. Atléti hopes to pick up such an experienced star player for a pittance.