Talks between Juventus and Paulo Dybala’s agent, Jorge Antun, over a contract extension have been pushed back until after the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Villarreal.
Dybala is one of five senior players whose contracts are expiring in the summer and Juve are poised to start negotiations with each of them soon. There’s hope that they’ll be able to wrap up deals for Mattia Perin, Mattia De Sciglio and Juan Cuadrado, but negotiations with Federico Bernardeschi and Dybala are set to prove a little trickier.
The club are hesitant to meet Bernardeschi’s demands of a five-year extension, while they’re poised to offer La Joya a less lucrative deal compared to one the Argentine agreed on last autumn before the Bianconeri got cold feet.
Dybala’s perpetual injury woes have spooked the Bianconeri, and the odds of the club’s star playmaker becoming a free agent this summer are increasing by the day.
Contract talks between Juventus and Paulo Dybala’s agent have been delayed
Cambio di programma: la #Juventus ha chiesto all’entourage di #Dybala di posticipare l’incontro post match contro il #Villarreal. Con una data da fissare nei prossimi giorni 🇦🇷⚪️⚫️@GoalItalia
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) March 9, 2022
Juventus were poised to meet with Antun on Friday, but Romeo Agresti reported on Thursday that the club asked Dybala’s entourage whether they could postpone negotiations until after next Wednesday’s all-important continental clash with Villarreal.
The two sides head into the second leg all square after Dani Parejo cancelled out Dusan Vlahovic’s record-breaking opener in Spain.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Giovanni Albanese, Juve have opted to postpone all contract negotiations as they don’t want any distractions at a crucial point in the season. Thus, discussing the new deals during the March international break seems more suitable.
Agresti adds that a new date for Antun to meet with the Juve hierarchy will be confirmed in the coming days.
Juventus manager will be hoping that he can call upon Dybala for the second leg against the Yellow Submarine next week. The Argentine has been out injured since the Derby della Mole and he suffered a fresh setback ahead of last Sunday’s victory over Spezia.
His persistent woes on this front mean he has little leverage in negotiations.