Pundit urges Chelsea to avoid signing ‘quality’ Paulo Dybala

Danny Murphy advises Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino to avoid signing AS Roma’s Paulo Dybala

Danny Murphy has suggested Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino to avoid AS Roma star Paulo Dybala and instead go for a striker or midfielder.

Pochettino has personally asked the West Londoners to sign the 29-year-old, who could be signed for a cut-price fee given he has a £10 million release clause that would apply to the Blues.

Meanwhile, other Chelsea players, such as Thiago Silva and Enzo Fernandez, have also supported the Argentine head coach’s decision to bring in the former Juventus player. It hardly comes as a surprise, given Dybala’s quality and pedigree.

But Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy feels instead of signing the 2022 World Cup winner, the club should instead sign a midfielder or a striker, (h/t Metro) as he told Vibe with Five:

‘He’s a quality player, but do they need another player who is a 10, a winger, a striker? They need a striker, they have got them but they need a proper established one. Kane would do them, not that he’s going to go there. I’m not sure they need it. They need midfielders because Kante has gone, Kovacic has gone, Loftus-Cheek has gone and Mount has gone. Depending on Financial Fair Play, I think Chelsea want to be prioritising other positions.’

Murphy’s statement that we need a midfielder and a striker for the upcoming season is largely accurate. We have sold a lot of players, especially in the middle of the park. Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all departed, and we have raised decent sums from those outgoings.

We only have Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez as our first-team midfield options. For the false nine position, we boast Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja only. Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang face dubious futures at Chelsea and David Datro Fofana has been loaned to Union Berlin.

More Chelsea News

• Chelsea are keen to replace Manchester United-bound Mason Mount with Gabri Veiga
• Salvatore Bagni feels Victor Osimhen will snub Chelsea after they failed to ensure Champions League qualification
• Ruben Loftus-Cheek admits he was discontent with the lack of playing time at Chelsea

But Dybala is by no means a bad option, especially for the aforementioned price. He can play in a similar role to Mount if needed — as a No. 10, and can also add buckets of experience to the wings, where Noni Madueke (21) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (22) are our first-team options. Both are largely unproven right now, and Dybala can be a great link between youth and experience in that area. Christian Pulisic’s departure to AC Milan also opens up a slot in the position.