Paulo Dybala is the subject of serious negotiations, according to Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk.
“He is a valuable player and all the coaches train him, including me,” Buruk told reporters.
And who wouldn’t want a player of Dybala’s calibre? At 31, the World Cup winner is still revered as one of the last great number tens of his generation.
With 127 goals in Serie A and 25 more in European competitions, Buruk knows that Dybala is the best player to sign and strengthen the defense of Galatasaray’s name and the chances of winning a treble in the Turkish Super Lig.
Despite a turbulent season in the Italian capital, Dybala has focused to contribute four league goals and one assist in 2024-25. As Roma plunged deeper into crisis mode, the Giallorossi panicked through three different coaches.
In this regard, outgoing president Claudio Ranieri believes that Dybala would like to stay at the Stadio Olimpico so that his team can climb back up the standings from tenth place.
Dybala, an iconic Roma fan favourite, has already expressed a preference to end the remainder of his contract, which could expire in June.
There is a world in which La Joya, Argentina’s second top scorer after Lionel Messi at Lusail, could remain in Serie A until 2026: he will have to play six more games this season, playing at least forty-five minutes each, to could cause the extension of the clause.
Ranieri will undoubtedly start for the former Palermo and Juventus striker in Sunday’s epic clash at the Stadio San Siro against AC Milan.
Then, with the January move window on the horizon, Ranieri knows Dybala’s entourage will be racing to collect one last big payday before he enters the winter of his career.
“Global agents and player publicity,” Ranieri said when asked about Dybala. “Nothing has reached us. I know he needs to stay. He is satisfied with us and we are satisfied with him. “
ROME, ITALY – DECEMBER 22: AS Roma coach Claudio Ranieri and the player Paulo Dybala during the … [+] Serie match between Roma and Parma at Stadio Olimpico on December 22, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images)
Valued at 12. 5 million dollars (12 million euros), Dybala could join the long list of former Serie A stars who have signed for Super Lig clubs, some of whom shine brightly in the current champion of the GalatasarayArray.
But there were dark moments. Buruk will have to find a replacement for former Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi – another Argentine – who suffered a serious knee injury against Tottenham in the Europa League.
Having scored four goals in just seven games this season, Icardi, who underwent surgery in November, is expected to be out until at least May.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MAY 12: Dries Mertens (10) of Galatasaray celebrates after scoring the second … [+] goal of his team with Baris Alper Yilmaz (53) and Mauro Icardi (9) during the Turkish Super League match between Fatih Karagumruk and Galatasaray at Ataturk Olympic Stadium on May 12, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey.(Photo by Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images)
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – NOVEMBER 7: Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen celebrates his team’s third purpose. [ ] with teammate Dries Mertens, the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League level MD4 adjustment between Galatasaray A. S. and Tottenham Hotspur at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi on November 7, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo via Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
Galatasaray has meticulously built a formidable squad under Buruk’s watch, beginning with four crucial signatures. The former Inter midfielder, who took over as coach in 2022, immediately signed Icardi ($10.3M), Sassuolo defender Kaan Ayhan, former Fiorentina midfielder Lucas Torreira, and Dries Mertens from Napoli when President Aurelio De Laurentiis audaciously discarded the Belgian playmaker.
Two years later, when Napoli failed to secure a big-money sale for Victor Osimhen, Galatasaray offered the Nigerian a loan deal at the eleventh hour when Antonio Conte excluded him from the Azzurri’s Serie A squad list following a long dispute with the player’s agent.
Again, with Dybala in and out of favour at Roma, Gala are ready and willing to swoop amidst tension and uncertainty at Trigoria.
Moreover, Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Jurić have already felt the wrath of owners The Friedkin Group, with both coaches sacked within two months. And with Lorenzo Pellegrini, Matias Soulè and Gianluca Mancini underperforming on the field, more changes are expected in the dugout.
Roma players Matías Soule, Paulo Dybala, Gianluca Mancini and Lorenzo Pellegrini fit in for Roma-Venice at the Stadio Olimpico. Rome (Italy), September 29, 2024 (Photo via Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
Club legend Ranieri is expected to bring stability as results fluctuate (Roma lost five of six league matches, then beat Parma 5-0), and the 73-year-old has garnered enough experience as coach of eight different Serie A clubs to know that star players come and go; it’s just a matter of time.
Either way, Ranieri is preparing for either scenario.
“When he [Dybala] is able to, he plays, but if he’s tired, I’ll rest him like any other,” Ranieri told DAZN after Roma beat Parma.
“There is a gypsy with him and a gypsy with him. “
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