Where will Paulo Dybala move with Juventus contract expiring? Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona or elsewhere?
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Published 21/03/2022 at 15:59 GMT
With the news that Paulo Dybala will leave Juventus at the end of his contract this summer, with no new deal agreed, Pete Sharland takes a look at where the attacking midfielder might go. Will he stay in Italy with Inter Milan or try Spain with Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona? Or might it be somewhere else entirely...
Juve-Star Paulo Dybala
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Paulo Dybala's time at Juventus looks to be coming to an end after the two parties failed to come to terms over a new deal. The attacking midfielder will now leave Turin at the expiry of his contract in the summer.
Juve have reportedly offered a lower contract than previously and Dybala and his agents have not accepted that offer.
It sets up a pretty interesting scenario for the 28-year-old who, on his day, is one of the best attacking midfielders in the world, but has really struggled with injuries.
“Dybala seems to have already given his best as a player,” says Davide Bighiani of Eurosport Italy.
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Paulo Dybala
Image credit: Getty Images
“He is 28 years old and is still a fantastic player. But it always feels as if more injuries are just around the corner, which is unfortunate,
“We think he could still play in La Liga or Serie A, but the physical demands of the Premier League might be too much for him.”
Bighiani added that he feels as if "Juventus fans are divided at the moment because they know Dybala adds a lot of quality to Max Allegri’s team, but he has suffered so many injuries and he never made a huge difference when it came to European football.”
Juventus bolstered their frontline with the signing of Dusan Vlahovic in January, plus there are rumours they are targeting Roma starlet Nicolo Zaniolo.
As for Dybala, where does he go now? Let’s take a look at some of the options.
Barcelona
There is an inherent problem from the off with this move. Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has a very clear footballing philosophy that revolves around the 4-3-3. There are some reports that he may want to explore a three-at-the-back system but that wouldn’t change anything for Dybala, because the Argentina international hasn’t demonstrated in his career that he can play deeper in a midfield three.
Plus, with the greatest amount of respect, it seems highly unlikely that Barcelona and Xavi would want to do anything that takes away playing time from the likes of Gavi and Nico in their development.
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Xavi - FC Barcelona
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Playing Dybala out wide seems like a waste, so the alternative is playing him as the forward. Dybala could definitely do that, but again, are you getting the best out of him? Unless Xavi has a clear plan for him it seems unlikely this happens or would work.
Inter Milan
So this might be the most logical fit. Dybala wouldn’t have far to move and he knows the league inside out. Plus he would get the chance to play with fellow Argentina star Lautaro Martinez, who has struggled for form since losing Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea last summer.
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TURIN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 09: Lautaro Martinez of Internazionale and Paulo Dybala of Juventus chat after the final whistle of the Coppa Italia semi-final between Juventus and FC Internazionale at Allianz Stadium on February 09, 2021 in Turin, Italy. Sportin
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You would imagine manager Simone Inzaghi would want to bring in Dybala to replace Edin Dzeko alongside Martinez in the 3-5-2 system that has served the team so well over the past few seasons. Dybala is obviously not similar to Dzeko and Lukaku in terms of physical stature but he does share their propensity for creating chances for team-mates. Plus he does like to drift wide to the right to link up with team-mates or cut back on to his left. This is something Lukaku did in tandem with Achraf Hakimi to great effect under Antonio Conte. Could the same trick work with Dybala?
Atletico Madrid
This might be the most interesting option for Dybala. He would get to play under Diego Simeone and with a wide array of attacking talent. The problem is just that. Atletico will likely bid farewell to Luis Suarez in the summer. But they are also still probably going to have Angel Correa, Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix, Thomas Lemar and Yannick Carrasco in the attacking areas. Plus Renan Lodi who weirdly seems to have developed into a goalscoring left-winger.
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TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 26: Paulo Dybala of Juventus embraces Atletico de Madrid head coach Diego Simeone at the end of the UEFA Champions League group D match between Juventus and Atletico Madrid at Allianz Stadium on November 26, 2019 in Turin, Italy. (
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Simeone had a lot of trouble fitting everyone in and has cycled through a lot of different formations so far this season. He seems to have settled on a 3-5-2 similar to Inzaghi at Inter. But if Felix and Griezmann are there where does Dybala fit in? Simeone could shift to a 3-4-1-2 with Dybala in the 10. But if Simeone feels he wants three star attackers going into next season then Dybala represents a tantalising prospect.
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are the two Premier League clubs most heavily linked to Dybala but we’ve linked them together for similar reasons. Firstly, most of the reporting around Dybala suggests that if he were to leave Italy he would prefer to move to Spain rather than England.
Of course the wages of the Premier League might entice. But there’s a real chance that both these clubs will be looking for new managers in the summer, one definitely will. There’s also a small chance that neither of them will have Champions League football next season.
And finally it’s also not abundantly clear where Dybala would play in either team. Neither of them play with a 10 and whilst Spurs do often utilise two behind the main striker there is an onus on them to drift wide and create overloads. Does that suit Dybala?
PSG
Take a lot of what was said with the two Premier League sides and you can apply it to PSG. Sure the money will be there, but assuming Kylian Mbappe leaves then where does Dybala fit with compatriot Lionel Messi and Neymar? As the lead forward, or as one of three 10s? This just seems weird.
It is worth pointing out that our colleagues in on Dybala’s next destination, saying there is a 40 per cent chance he joins Inter and a 40 per cent chance he joins Atletico. The remaining 20 per cent is split between Barcelona, PSG and, interestingly, AC Milan.
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