Real Madrid opted against making a marquee signing this past summer after losing Cristiano Ronaldo, but one may reportedly arrive in January in the form of Paulo Dybala.
The 24-year-old has emerged as one of Europe’s top forwards as after impressing for Palermo, he secured a move to Juventus in 2015 and has gone on to bag 68 goals in 142 games for the Serie A champions.
However, things haven’t gone to plan thus far between him and summer signing Ronaldo, with the Argentine ace the one to suffer having played just 10 minutes of football in the last two league games.
That has seemingly raised question marks over his time in Italy, with Don Balon reporting that he may well be moving closer to securing a €120m move to Real Madrid in January.
It comes after comments from Palermo owner Maurizio Zamparini that Dybala will be on the move in the New Year, while The Express have backed that claim by noting that Los Blancos have emerged as the favourites to land his signature in the next transfer window ahead of Man Utd.
Of course, Dybala is a different kind of player to Ronaldo and so it is by no means a direct replacement.
Nevertheless, the playmaker is also key aside from his goals with 32 assists in his 161 Serie A outings to date. and so combined with the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio and Isco, he could be a highly effective option in the final third for Julen Lopetegui.
There is perhaps an argument that he may be too similar to the likes of Asensio and Isco and that trio may have to battle for places in the starting line-up behind an in-form Benzema and new talisman Bale.
However, if there is an opportunity to snap up a player of his quality, then Real Madrid surely can’t ignore it and given he’s still only 24, he’s undoubtedly a long-term option too.
Time will tell if a January move materialises, as there is still plenty of time for Dybala’s situation at Juventus to change if he can find the spark needed to get his partnership with Ronaldo on track.