I first noticed De Paul at the 2019 Copa America and I have watched him closely since. This is what I think:
1. He is a box-to-box attacking midfielder, in the same mould as Gerrard or Vidal were.
2. He is a good passer of the ball, a good dribbler, has a high football IQ, and has a dangerous shot on him. None of our current midfielders are a goal threat, but he is.
3. He’s much better defensively than you think. When he plays for Argentina, he plays in midfield with Paredes (who is not good defensively) and Lo Celso (who is an attacking midfielder). De Paul is able to make this setup work due his immense workrate
4. I don’t understand all the complaints about him being slow. He’s not fast but he’s not slow either. Also, midfielders don’t need to be like Bale or Mbappe.