Pirlo To Use Dybala In Swap Deal To Reunite With $124M Former Teammate At Juventus

Juventus are reportedly planning to use forward Paulo Dybala in a swap deal to bring Manchester United’s Paul Pogba back to Turin.

Pogba remains one of the top targets of Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo ahead of the 2021 summer transfer window, soccer website FourFourTwo reported.

Pogba and Pirlo were teammates between 2012 and 2015, where they won three consecutive Serie A titles at Juventus. The 2014-15 season was Pirlo’s last term at Juventus and Pogba played a vital part in helping his side reach the final of the Champions League, which they lost 3-1 to FC Barcelona.

Juventus are keen on bringing back Pogba, who made a $124 million move to Manchester United in the summer of 2016 but has failed to live up to the price tag and expectations. The World Cup-winning midfielder has netted only 37 goals in 187 competitive matches in a run, which has been marred with several injuries.

In addition to that, he has had issues on and off the pitch, while there have been constant doubts over his commitment towards Old Trafford by pundits and fans. Overall, Pogba has been disappointed at Manchester United, something France’s head coach Didier Deschamps has spoken about publicly.

Pogba’s current deal with the Red Devils is due to expire in 2022 and it is believed that he may leave the club as early as this summer as Manchester United would not want to risk losing Pogba on a free transfer during the 2022 summer window, according to Italian publication Tuttosport.

Apart from the League Cup and Europa League wins in his first season since his return from Juventus, the club is yet to win more trophies. Having been sidelined by Sir Alex Ferguson, Pogba left the club and joined Juventus. But when he returned in 2016, he was a more mature player. Unfortunately, he established a difficult relationship with Jose Mourinho. Even though Pogba’s situation at Manchester United improved with the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the club has not won anything and that is one of the major reasons behind Pogba nearing his Old Trafford exit.

Earlier, it was reported that while Juventus and Dybala are currently negating the player’s future, top European clubs such as Liverpool FC and Manchester United are interested in signing the Argentine forward. The 27-year-old forward’s current contract with the Serie A champions is set to expire at the end of the season.