After weeks of negotiations with Juventus, Tottenham got very close to signing Paulo Dybala. According to Miguel Delaney and Luke Brown of the Independent, a £65m fee was agreed between the two clubs and the 25-year-old was open to moving to London, but a deal eventually fell through on transfer deadline day. So, what happened?
Juventus were willing to sell Dybala and would look to sign a replacement in the same transfer window. Tottenham needed depth in attack after selling Vincent Janssen to Monterrey and releasing Fernando Llorente at the end of his contract. Spurs matched Dybala’s asking price and convinced the striker to leave Turin for London, but his image rights held up the deal.
The Independent say Dybala sold his rights to Star Image Company, which meant Tottenham had to agree a separate deal before the transfer could be ratified. Juventus were working hard to help Tottenham, but time wasn’t on their side. A deal couldn’t be agreed with Star Image Company which led to Juventus cancelling the transfer.
A permanent deal was off the cards and little progress was being made with a loan deal + buying option too. Tottenham made a final attempt to sign Dybala, but Paris Saint-Germain’s late interest in the striker ruined their chances. Juve now have over two weeks to agree a deal with PSG. Spurs ran out of time and had too many hoops to hurdle.