Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has warned Paulo Dybala against a summer move to Premier League giants Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, speaking to Sky Italia.
Adapting to a new league and a new country – especially after 20 years at the same club – is no easy task. Even for a footballer as outrageously talented as Lionel Messi.
Who would have imagined that arguably the greatest player ever to play the game would score just three league goals in the colours of Paris Saint-Germain, a smattering of boos raining down as another game passes him by? Messi, even as the Catalan kingdom crumbled all around him, still found the net 30 times in La Liga in 2020/21, after all.
And, as far as Del Piero is concerned, Messi’s Parisian malaise should be a warning to another Argentine number ten. One who’s contract is due to expire in a matter of weeks.
“A league like the Spanish one would help him in all respects,” says Del Piero.
“The more physical championships like in England and France… I think of Messi when he went to a league which was difficult from a physical point of view.
“In Spain and Italy, Dybala would do very well.”
Where next for Paulo Dybala?
According to Corriere dello Sport, Tottenham are currently leading the race for a player who narrowly slipped through Daniel Levy’s fingers during a drawn-out transfer saga in the summer of 2019.
Spurs have already signed two players from Juventus this year, while managing director Fabio Paratici also knows Dybala from his time in Turin.
Arsenal and an ambitious Newcastle United side are also keen (Corriere).
But Del Piero feels that Dybala, who turns 29 this year, would be better off staying close to home.
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“Dybala at Inter Milan? Lautaro (Martinez) needs a finisher behind. Dybala instead of (Edin) Dzeko,” the 2006 World Cup winner adds.
“That would be fantastic because he provides a lot of movement and play for the team. It could be good for Lautaro.”
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