OPINION
Man United are set to make Marcus Rashford their number one striker next season and they might be set to sign the perfect right-sided partner for him.
The Times have reported that United are in talks with Juventus over a possible swap deal that would see Romelu Lukaku move to Italy and Paulo Dybala come the other way.
The 25-year-old second striker is not guaranteed a regular first-team spot next season in Serie A and initial negotiations over a move to United have started.
TiF Tactics – Is Dybala the answer?
The Times describe him as having “great technical ability, speed and creativity” but say “his goals record is not the best”.
That’s not entirely fair. From four full seasons at Juventus, Dybala has delivered prolific returns in two and only really disappointed in the 18/19 campaign.
In his first season he scored 19 in 34 games, then 11 in 31 and his best return of 22 in 33 came in the 17/18 season. Admittedly, five from 30 games last season was poor.
Dybala heat map
Over his entire career, though, Dybala boasts a pretty stellar record of 0.5 goals per 90 minutes [wyscout.com] and with his preference to play as a left-footer on the right side of attack, he would suit the United set-up perfectly. That’s where they’re weak at the moment, with Jesse Lingard not consistent enough.
Dybala delivers an average of just over 40 passes per 90 minutes with 86% accuracy and attempts almost six dribbles per 90 with 49.8% accuracy.
Likely to happen?
It seems like it’s all going to hinge on Dybala and whether he wants to join United. One big stumbling block could be the lack of Champions League football although the message coming from United would be that that’s only a temporary situation that Dybala can help to rectify for the 20/21 season.
Prominent Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur has said that while he wanted to join Inter Milan, they can’t meet the asking price. He claims Dybala will have the “last word” and that could come down to the powers of persuasion of Ole Gunnar Solskajaer and the United board. It would definitely be one of the more spectacular moves of the summer.
He initially wanted to join Inter, but as they are not able to meet the asking price, Juventus and Man United have come up with an acceptable solution: Big Rom shipped to Juve, Dybala sold to United. Last word for Dybala who has to agree terms with United and has to say ‘yes’.
— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) July 30, 2019