Report: Liverpool looking to sign ‘special talent’ on a free transfer, Pep Guardiola says he’s ‘very good’

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Liverpool are following Paulo Dybala’s contract situation at Juventus. That’s according to TuttomercatoWEB, who say that Dybala has “knotted a thread of interest” with The Reds.

The report claims that the 28-year-old is unhappy with the terms being offered by his current club.

There is reportedly strong interest from Inter Milan. But Dybala doesn’t want to betray Juventus, despite the “lack of respect” shown to him during negotiations.

This has led him to seek out clubs in England. As well as Liverpool, Manchester City are credited with an interest in the man they call “La Joya”.

Is Liverpool’s interest genuine

It isn’t the first time that Liverpool have been linked to Dybala. But almost everything about the Argentine’s profile goes against Liverpool’s transfer model.

The first thing is his age. We know that Michael Edwards and co tend to target players aged in the 22-25-year-old bracket. Last week’s signing of Luis Diaz is proof that Edwards’ successor Julian Ward is likely to stick to that philosophy.

We also know that they will make exceptions for a special player such as they did with Thiago Alcantara.

Dybala is certainly a special player. Pep Guardiola called him “very good” via Gazzetta dello Sport after he scored a brilliant goal against his Bayern Munich side in 2016.

Mauricio Pochettino has also praised Dybala in the past. The former Tottenham Hotspur manager called him a “special talent” in The Daily Mail back in 2018.

But the player is claimed to be unhappy with what Juventus are currently offering him. It’s highly unlikely that Liverpool will be willing to match or better that for an injury-plagued player who turns 29 later this year.

Lastly, he is very much in the traditional number 10 mould. There is simply no room for a player like that in Jurgen Klopp’s 4-3-3 set-up.

He could possibly play the “Firmino role”, but as Bobby is no longer a guaranteed starter, the need to find a successor to the Brazilian is less urgent.

Of course there could be genuine interest from Liverpool. The Reds have surprised us in the past. But this sounds more like a player using “interest” from other clubs to get the contract he wants from his current club.