Paulo Dybala announces he’s chosen to join Juventus

Juventus have added a striker with world-class potential to their squad for next season, having agreed to purchase Paulo Dybala from Palermo. Giuseppe Iachini, Palermo’s manager, spoke about the deal earlier in the week and Dybala confirmed that he’d chosen to join Juventus after his club’s loss to Fiorentina on Sunday.

The deal for the 21-year-old Argentine is believed to be €28 million, plus likely performance-related bonuses and a sell-on clause based on how much profit Juventus make from a future sale. Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini was demanding €40m at the start of negotiations, and he might get close to that value between the incentives and some player exchanges.

Dybala has scored 13 goals in his first Serie A campaign, including three from penalties and three others off free kicks. He’s also provided 10 assists for Palermo this season, making him directly involved in nearly half of his side’s 51 goals scored so far on the campaign. Of those 13 goals, 10 were Palermo’s first of the match, and nine of his strikes either equalized the scoreline or put his side ahead. That’s impressive, and it definitely looks like Dybala has a taste for the big moments.

Some have dramatically declared Dybala to be the next Lionel Messi, but the better comparison might be to another Argentine striker currently plying his trade in Serie A: Gonzalo Higuain. Both are good on the ball, but also very good at sniffing out spaces in the defense to receive it in. Higuain and Dybala are good at both passing and finishing, and while neither is great in the air, both are good enough to get the job done if need be.

Critics decry Dybala’s high volume of shots per goal and his lack of goalscoring since his impressive run in the first half of the season ended. Both are largely the result of the team around him -- Palermo have struggled to get the ball to him in dangerous areas all season long or to support him when he’s driving to the box, and their precipitous drop in form since the new year has seen the entire squad struggle to score goals, not just Dybala.

Up front, this looks like a good purchase for Juventus. It’s a lot of money, but they’ve been making good business deals to keep their coffers full and are in excellent shape with Financial Fair Play, even if the regulations aren’t loosened as dramatically as rumored. That money gets them one of the best striking prospects in Europe right now, adding depth to a front line that could use an injection of premium talent -- Carlos Tevez is rumored to be going home for the fifth consecutive summer, Fernando Llorente looks likely to leave and Real Madrid have a buyback clause on Alvaro Morata. And if Morata’s progression is any indication, Juventus could be the perfect environment for Paulo Dybala to take the step forward in his career.