According to the Standard, Tottenham launched an £80million move for Juventus and Argentina forward Paulo Dybala. The player is reportedly now considering his future in Turin after the bid. The move would certainly be an interesting one on the part of Tottenham. The mooted fee would mean that Spurs have broken their transfer record twice this summer after the signing of Tanguy Ndombele earlier this summer.
Dybala swapping one shadow for another
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo casts a big shadow. Unfortunately for Dybala, the 25-year-old was in his shadow for much of last season. Despite his rating as one of the top forwards in the world, Dybala scored just five times in Serie A last season. The fact he played as a central striker in just 11 of his starts in all competitions contributed to that poor goal tally.
Although Dybala is versatile and can play out wide or as a second striker. His versatility will be useful, as he would be competing with Tottenham talisman Harry Kane for the central striker’s role. It seems like he may be going from in Ronaldo’s shadow to in Kane’s in north London.
Is Mauricio Pochettino set to play with two strikers?
At times last season Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino played with two strikers. When attacking midfielder Dele Alli was playing he was almost a second striker. Dybala playing upfront with Kane sounds like a match made in heaven.
Centre forward is his natural position. However, if he is being signed as a centre forward then it seems a strange move if Spurs are not going to play two upfront. Signing Dybala for £80million and then shoving him out wide just would not make sense, as Spurs already have good wide players in Christian Eriksen, Heung-Min Son and Lucas Moura.
Daniel Levy finally backing Pochettino
If Tottenham does sign Dybala, then it shows that club chairman Daniel Levy is prepared to give boss Pochettino the financial backing to help the team progress next season.
They are currently one of the favourites to seal a Champions League spot. However, fans want to take the next step and challenge for the Premier League title on a consistent basis. They have challenged for the title in recent history, but they have always fallen foul of fatigue towards the end of the campaign.
Pochettino is a big fan of Dybala and the forward’s praises in the past. Dybala does seem to need a move to revive his career after last season’s failure to impress. Whether a move to north London is what is next in his career is yet to be answered.
There is little doubt that Dybala would add quality to a Spurs squad that contains just one out-and-out striker in Kane. Dybala is unlikely to head to the English capital as an understudy, so if he moves to Tottenham, he will likely get some form of reassurance about first-team football next season.
It is certainly an interesting story. Maybe it is just paper talk and rumours. However, there is something in it, as Tottenham look to improve on last seasons campaign.
Will Paulo Dybala be a Tottenham player by the end of the summer transfer window?