Juventus Transfers: Why Andrea Pirlo can’t afford to lose Paulo Dybala

The last few months have been a rollercoaster ride for Juventus‘ manager Andrea Pirlo. Following the celebration of winning this season’s Supercoppa Italiana and a healthy run of form in Serie A, a pumped-up yet injury-ravaged Juventus side had to endure a very unlikely elimination from the UEFA Champions League’s first knock-out stage, at the hands of Porto, thanks to the away goal rule.

Juventus struggled hard in every aspect that night, as they have had struggled several times in the league this season, consequently dropping further in the race for the 10th consecutive Scudetto.

As far as the league defeats are concerned, the 1-0 humbling against Napoli is the most recent one — the one showcasing this season’s travesties for Andrea Pirlo.

When some might accuse Andrea Pirlo of being tactically naive in the games they particularly scuffled, others might choose Juventus’ lack of creativity in the potent areas as to why Juventus have had dropped crucial points along the way, in the games where they are expected to outrun their opponents in every single department on another day.

You can’t blame Andrea Pirlo for the latter. Maybe you could’ve criticised him had he been the focal point of the creative force while prolifically playing the regista role just like the old days. But now, you can only cherish those memories.

When talking about creative playmakers, Juventus have a drought in that particular region. Pirlo’s game plan of procuring goals largely depends on the services from the flanks and some hard work from Alvaro Morata — the Spaniard has 11 assists to his name this season so far.

The other medium of Juve’s creativity has been sidelined ever since January 2021 — yes, we are talking about Paulo Dybala.

While the injury has been a huge barrier between Dybala and him impressing his new manager with the on-field trickeries, La Joya, despite not playing regular football at all, is attracting loads of noise.

Here is why Paulo Dybala is attracting transfer noise…

A recently-published report in Calciomercato.it suggests that two English Premier League clubs in Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have shown interest in signing the 27-year-old playmaker from Juventus in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The story also exaggerates that Chelsea are more willing in this Dybala chase than their London rivals, even hinting that the Blues could offer either Jorginho plus €10 million or one of the strikers — Timo Werner or Christian Pulisic — in exchange for La Joya’s signature.

As mentioned in that report, Paulo Dybala’s current contract is set to run out in June 2022 and hence has already entered the last 18 months of the agreement.

But on the contrary, the boardroom of the Bionconeri values Dybala’s talent. And as a consequence, talks for a contract extension have reportedly been initiated by the Turin-based club but are far from completion.

And with the star injured, there is no way Juventus would make any movement in a real hurry.

When could Dybala return to action?

As many of you may know, Paulo Dybala sustained a knee injury in a Serie A game against Sassuolo last January. It was initially believed that he would return to full fitness in 15-20 days.

But the Juventus enthusiasts still await his comeback, with almost two months gone since that incident.

On the back of Juve’s conventional 3-1 victory against Cagliari last weekend, Pirlo provided an update on Dybala’s return, saying:

"“We hope to have Dybala back after the break for international duty. We’ve practically never had him available this season and that was a big loss.”"

Juventus can’t afford to lose an asset like Dybala next summer

Since the turn of the year, Dybala has been unavailable, owing to the fact that he has been nursing his knee injury.

Playing only 646 minutes of football under the supervision of Andrea Pirlo this season in Italian Serie A, Dybala, despite garnering two goals and two assists, has not got the needed time to harmonise his gameplay with the orders of his manger.

And therefore, the question remains — does his game suit Pirlo’s dynamic tactics?

Valued at €70 million by Transfermarkt, Dybala had an exceptional record in Serie A under Maurizio Sarri in the last season, racking up 11 goals and 11 assists in 33 games for Juve, proving that he possesses the ability to play at the highest league alongside the very best of the game.

And hopefully, upon his return from injury, Dybala would rerun his peak form — but for Pirlo this time.

Furthermore, in order to how Juve’s future might look like, the upcoming summer transfer window also holds a huge significance. The club is likely to undergo a major overhaul.

While bringing the Champions League title home is the club’s upmost ambition, losing an asset like Dybala would certainly leave a bold scar on their high hopes.