Will Paulo Dybala still be a Juventus player next season? According to Turin-based sports daily Tuttosport, the Bianconeri‘s entourage are not completely sure about renewing the contract of the 26-year-old La Joya and are considering to place him on the market – with clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester City keen on making a move to secure his services.
Dybala still has two years to run on his current contract but talks between his staff and the club have reportedly been stalling due to La Joya‘s request for a 15M euros wage. Juventus are not willing to offer more than 8M euros.
Milan-based La Gazzetta dello Sport has also been tagging along the rumor, reporting that, should Juve really consider to sell Dybala, his price tag would be set at 90M euro at least.
According to the same sources, Real Madrid may have an edge on closing the deal as they could put players like Marco Asensio and Mariano Isco on the plate for a swap deal – both of them are reported to be highly favored by Juve’s new coach Andrea Pirlo.
After a staggering start, the Argentine became a crucial player in Juventus’ successful run towards their 9th Scudetto in a row, scoring 17 goals in the process and even being named the Serie A MVP for the 2019-2020 season ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Just a few weeks ago, Juventus Chief Football Officer Fabio Paratici had had good words for him: “We have been talking about the contract renewal with his staff continuously. Paulo surely is a very important player and we made a significant investment when we bought him. We have always believed in him and it is not by chance that we gave him the number 10 jersey – which has a symbolic value for us. We hope, no, we are sure that Dybala will be the future of Juventus.”
That was, however, before the recent upheaval which saw the sacking of Maurizio Sarri and the swift appointment of Andrea Pirlo as a new coach – two instances that showed how Juventus are not afraid of taking bold and unexpected decisions.
As Cristiano Ronaldo is also reported to be potentially looking for a new destination, and with Gonzalo Higuain appearing well past his prime, Andrea Pirlo’s journey at Juventus may start with a complete restyling of the front-line.