The 28-year-old Argentinian international is getting closer to a move with Inter Milan. His 7-year venture with Juventus is set to come to an end as Dybala failed to renew his contract.
In Turin, Dybala played a total of 210 games with an impressive 82 goals scored. Coming out of Juventus as a free agent, it’s no surprise that many clubs are looking to sign the forward this transfer window.
Ahead of the race is Inter Milan, who have the most advanced talks with Dybala’s agent. As it stands, Dybala is interested in signing – contingent on Inter Milan meeting salary and add-on bonuses.
Nicknamed “La Joya”, Dybala made his professional debut in the Primera B Nacional (Argentine second division) with his hometown club Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba at age 17. In total, he played 40 matches with the club, scoring 17 goals. He was the youngest to score a goal, beating the record of Mario Kempes. Dybala was also the first to play 38 consecutive matches in a professional league in the country (again edging Kempes), and was also the first to score two hat-tricks in a season. Dybala also scored in six consecutive games, surpassing the previous record of four matches.
On 29 April 2012, U.S. Città di Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini announced the signing of Dybala stating, “We have got Paulo Dybala – the new Sergio Agüero.” On 20 July 2012 Palermo released a press announcement confirming the signing of Dybala, who signed a four-year deal with the Sicilian club. According to the financial filing of the club, the transfer fee was €8.64 million.
Dybala made his debut for the club in a Serie A match against Lazio. He scored his first and second goal in Italy on 11 November 2012 when Palermo defeated Sampdoria at home, 2–0. Dybala had his breakthrough season in the 2014–15 Serie A where he scored ten goals in the first half of the season, forming a successful striking partnership with fellow Argentine–Italian Franco Vázquez and being linked with several top European clubs. He finished the season with 13 goals and 10 assists, which made him one of the top assist providers in the league.
On 4 June 2015, Juventus announced the signing of Dybala on a five-year deal for a fee of €32 million (plus €8 million in add-ons). He was assigned the number 21 shirt, previously worn by Andrea Pirlo, who left the club that summer. On 8 August, he came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Kingsley Coman against Lazio in the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana. He scored the second goal in the 73rd minute in a 2–0 win in Shanghai. On 30 August 2015, Dybala scored his first league goal for the club in the 87th minute in a 2–1 defeat to Roma. In his first 16 appearances of the season, Dybala managed six goals and two assists in all competitions, with a ratio of a goal every 151 minutes, which was superior to Carlos Tevez’s and Alessandro Del Piero’s goalscoring ratios in their debut seasons with Juventus. In the club’s history, only Roberto Baggio maintained a superior goalscoring record in the opening games of his debut season.
Dybala scored his first career Coppa Italia goal in a 4–0 win over cross-city rivals Torino on 16 December. On 23 February 2016, Dybala scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–2 home draw to Bayern Munich in Juventus’ first round of 16 leg. On 15 March, it was announced Dybala would miss the second round of 16 leg of the Champions League against Bayern on 16 March due to an edema overload of his left soleus muscle. He returned to action four days later in a 4–1 away win over Torino, but was substituted after sustaining yet another injury. On 21 April, Dybala scored two goals in a 3–0 home win over Lazio, which took his league tally to 16 goals in 31 appearances and also saw him score his 20th goal of the season in all competitions in the process. He finished the season as Juventus’ top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and 19 goals in Serie A, as the club celebrated their Serie A title victory.
Dybala is a quick, creative, elegant, and agile player, with excellent technical ability and a low center of gravity. He is known for his powerful and accurate shots from outside the box, dribbling skills, balance, and close control in limited spaces, as well as his ability to beat opponents in one on one situations and protect or hold up the ball for teammates with his back to goal.
Due to his speed on the ball, positioning, intelligent movement, and ball skills, he excels during counter-attacks and at beating the offside trap when making attacking runs. A hardworking player, he is also known for his stamina and defensive contribution off the ball. Dybala is capable both of creating chances for teammates, as well as scoring goals himself, due to his vision, passing, link-up play, and ability to drop deep and play off other players, as well as his powerful and accurate ball-striking ability from both inside and outside the area. Despite his diminutive stature, Dybala is also effective at scoring with his head, due to his acceleration over short distances, and his ability to anticipate defenders inside the box.
