Barcelona are lining up a deal for Juventus forward Paulo Dybala with Antoine Griezmann heading in the opposite direction, reports the Daily Mail.
Griezmann’s time at Camp Nou has not gone as planned. He joined in 2019 from Atletico Madrid for a nine-figure fee, with the intention of winning the biggest trophies.
This hasn’t panned out, and he has only a Copa del Rey to his name since joining La Blaugrana. Meanwhile, his former club lifted the La Liga title last season.
In addition, his performances have not lived up to the price tag. In 99 appearances for the Catalan giants, he has scored 35 goals in all competitions – an admirable return, but way off the 135 in 257 he got for Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona are in a financial crisis right now and need to reduce their wage bill to meet La Liga’s salary cap.
Lionel Messi remains out of contract, while the club have been unable to register new signings Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal.
Griezmann is one of the players that they are looking to ship off to balance the books.
There were strong rumours that he would return to Atletico in exchange for midfielder Saul Niguez, but that move appears to be dead in the water.
Now an alternative has popped up, with the Daily Mail reporting that the Frenchman could be swapped for Juventus’ Paulo Dybala.
Dybala’s time at Juventus has been mixed. He enjoyed a solid start to life in Turin, scoring 68 goals in his first three seasons in all competitions.
However, the next three were not so productive, hitting 32 in 114 outings.
The Argentine will be desperate to impress in the coming season to get himself back into Lionel Scaloni’s good books.
He missed out on their Copa America triumph over the summer, with the manager citing fitness issues as the reason for his exclusion.
While Dybala is incredibly talented, there may be concerns over how he’ll fit in with Messi.
The 27-year-old has seen his opportunities with the national team seriously limited, playing just 22 minutes at the World Cup in 2018.
It is believed that his relationship with the Argentina and Barcelona captain is one of the main reasons why he didn’t get more time on the pitch.
A swap deal involving Dybala and Griezmann is looking unlikely, however, with journalist Fabrizio Romano denying the rumours. The Italian claims that Juventus are looking to renew the forward’s contract, which runs out in 2022.
Read also: Barcelona could use midfield duo in a swap deal for Alessio Romagnoli.
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