Paulo Dybala is in serious negotiation, according to Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk.
“He’s a valuable player, and every coach wants him, including me,” Buruk told journalists.
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 Dybala is the ideal man to bolster Galatasaray’s name defence and its goal of winning a treble in Turkey’s 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.
With that in mind, the incumbent, Claudio Ranieri, believes Dybala would like to remain at the Stadio Olimpico to help his side climb up the standings from tenth place.
An iconic Roma fan favourite, Dybala has previously expressed his desire to see out the remainder of his contract, which could potentially expire in June.
There is a global in which La Joya, Argentina’s second best shooter after Lionel Messi at Lusail, can remain in Serie A until 2026: he wants to play six more games this season, betting on at least forty-five minutes each, to trigger the extension clause.
Ranieri will undoubtedly start for the former Palermo and Juventus striker in Sunday’s epic at the Stadio San Siro against AC Milan.
Following that, with the January transfer window on the horizon, Ranieri knows that Dybala’s entourage will be working overtime to net one last sizeable commission fee before he enters the winter of his career.
“Global agents and player publicity,” Ranieri said when asked about Dybala. “Nothing has come to 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)
Rated at $12.5M (€12M), Dybala could join the long list of former Serie A stars who have signed for Super Lig clubs, a fistful of those shining brightly at reigning champions Galatasaray.
But there were dark moments. Buruk will have to look for 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 sidelined until at least May.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MAY 12: Dries Mertens (10) of Galatasaray celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal along with Baris Alper Yilmaz (53) and Mauro Icardi (9) the Turkish Super League match between Fatih Karagumruk and Galatasaray at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on May 12, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo via 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 MD4 adjustment of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League level between Galatasaray A. S. , 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo via Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
Galatasaray have meticulously built a formidable squad under Buruk, starting with four signings. The former Inter midfielder, who took over as coach in 2022, signed Icardi ($10. 3 million), Sassuolo defender Kaan Ayhan, former Fiorentina midfielder Lucas Torreira and Napoli Dries without delay. Mertens when president Aurelio De Laurentiis boldly sidelined the Belgian playmaker.
Two years later, when Napoli failed to secure a primary sale for Victor Osimhen, Galatasaray presented the Nigerian with a last-minute loan deal when Antonio Conte left him out of the Azzurri’s Serie A squad after 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.
Furthermore, Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Jurić already felt the wrath of the owners of the Friedkin Group, and both coaches were fired after two months. And with the poor performance of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Matias Soulè and Gianluca Mancini on the field, more adjustments are expected on the bench.
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] has to, he plays, but if he is tired I will rest him like anyone else,” Ranieri told DAZN after Roma beat Parma.
“There is a gypsy with him and a gypsy with him. “
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