Tottenham have been given a boost in their pursuit of Juventus forward Paulo Dybala, according to Football Insider.
A report from the outlet suggests that PSG rejected the opportunity to land the 25-year-old earlier this week, prior to the closing of the continental transfer window.
It is understood that Spurs are plotting a January swoop for the forward, with Daniel Levy said to be keen on completing a deal.
And the club have been encouraged by the fact that the French champions turned down a bid of £90million plus Dybala for Brazilian star Neymar.
TiF Tactic – Would Dybala be a good signing for Tottenham?
Absolutely, yes.
The Argentine might have wilted into the shadows at Juventus a little since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, but there is no denying that he is a top tier talent.
Even last year, during a relatively difficult spell in Turin, he managed 2.2 shots on goal per match, as well as 1.7 successful dribbles and 1.7 key passes, as per Whoscored.
The year before that, when he was still Juve’s main man to all intents and purposes, Dybala registered 3.5 shots and 2.8 successful dribbles per game.
On his day, he can be a world class ace up the sleeve, capable of unpicking any defensive lock in the game.
If Spurs could land him, it would truly be a landmark deal for the club.
Where would he fit in any Spurs?
First and foremost, it is almost impossible to imagine Dybala coming in and displacing Harry Kane.
The England captain is not only one of the finest strikers in world football right now, but he is also Spurs’ favourite son, and the poster boy of the Pochettino era.
That essentially leaves Spurs with two options.
Either they utilise Dybala as a covering option, much as they did with Fernando Llorente, or they fit him into their current system.
Given the amount of money it would take to complete this deal, it’s hard to see them benching the Argentine, and so he would presumably be shoe-horned into the starting 11.
According to Transfermarkt, Pochettino’s preferred system is a 4-2-3-1, with Kane operating as a loan striker.
Despite having a whole host of options to fill in in that trio behind the main man, it is not hard to envisage a situation whereby the central player in that three is pushed on into a more advanced position than usual to occupy a role closer to the centre-forward.
In that scenario, there are few players who could step into that position as effectively as Dybala.