Paulo Dybala could have a transformative effect on Liverpool. The Reds reportedly want to sign the Argentine on a free transfer.
Tutto Mercato Web claim Liverpool want Paulo Dybala. His contract expires in the summer, with crunch talks happening next month as Juventus try to keep him. It’s a complicated situation, however, and the 28-year-old is supposedly open to a move.
In fact, he’s supposedly open to moving to Anfield, specifically. TMW’s report claims Liverpool have an offer ready to go and they already ‘have the satisfaction’ of the player.
So what would Liverpool gain from signing Dybala? He’s not going to come cheap, even without a transfer fee.
What can Paulo Dybala bring Liverpool?
Dybala would likely take a similar role to Roberto Firmino in the Liverpool team. He has a bit more versatility than the Brazilian in that he can play wide at a push but primarily, we imagine Jurgen Klopp would want him as a False 9 or no.10 behind someone like Diogo Jota.
And in Dybala, Liverpool would have an elite playmaker in that role and someone whose teammates consider a ‘genius’. Firmino is a sensation at being a False 9 – the best in the world, surely – but he doesn’t create like the Argentine does.
Statsbomb data on FBref shows us this. Firmino, at his best, typically helps create 3 to 3.5 shots per 90 minutes. Dybala helps create over 5 per 90, however, and in Juventus’s last title-winning season, he got that number to 6.22.
That’s a massive difference and the variety in which Dybala creates those chances is incredible. He’ll win free-kicks, take free-kicks, he’ll dribble past players, play passes into the penalty area and have shots himself. At his best – and we’ll come back to that – Dybala offers just about everything you want a no.10 to do creatively.
Liverpool would be a bigger threat between the lines with him in the side. There’s little doubt about that and defensively, too, Dybala is surprisingly efficient.
He doesn’t press as often as Firmino, though that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Dybala is successful with around 30% of his presses, however, which is a comparable number to Liverpool’s no.9. He’s also averaging over an interception per 90 right now – a brilliant rate for any forward.
If Dybala clicked with the team, he could have a transformative effect creatively. Liverpool would have a new kind of player and one who could feed their forwards for fun.
So what would Liverpool lose?
Dybala is a better playmaker than Firmino but he’s not the same kind of False 9. Liverpool are very fortunate in that Firmino is physical enough to actually lead the line when needed, while also technically sound enough to drop between the lines.
With Dybala there, Liverpool would be a bit more one-dimensional and a little predictable. There are also concerns about Dybala’s fitness.
Firmino, to continue the comparison, played 31.5 90s in the Premier League last season. In other words, tally up all of his minutes and that’s the equivalent number of full games he played.
Dybala has only topped that number once in his career – his final season with Palermo back in 2015 (32.8).
In fact, since Klopp’s first full season, the fewest ’90s’ Firmino managed in a season was 29 back in 2018. That season in 2015 is the only one in Dybala’s career where he even managed that and he hasn’t managed more than 23.9 in three years.
So that’s something else Liverpool would lose – reliability. Dybala is not reliably available and that would make any move for him incredibly risky.
The question now is whether Liverpool want to take it.
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