Martinez not the only World Cup winner Pochettino wants at Chelsea

Tom Weber

• Updated: 6 Jul 2023 20:02 BST
• 3 min read

Mauricio Pochettino wants to bring Paulo Dybala to Stamford Bridge, according to Italian media.

The new Blues boss is seeking to put his stamp on the team and shape it in his image. To do this, he may look to some of his compatriots for help. On Wednesday, Football Insider claimed that Inter star Lautaro Martinez would relish the chance to play for Pochettino.

Now, Corriere dello Sport is linking Roma's Paulo Dybala with a potential switch to London. Whether a deal is realistic for a Dybala who, at 29, is far from the player he once was is up for debate, but it is true that Pochettino is a long-time admirer of his fellow Argentine.

The 51-year-old already wanted to bring Dybala to London when he was the head coach of Tottenham and, indeed, he also reportedly tried to sign him during his time in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.

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When Tottenham played Juventus five years ago, Pochettino compared Dybala to some of the greatest players of this generation. "He’s that type of player, like Messi, Neymar and Cristiano [Ronaldo]. They have the capacity to give the team a different option."

Dybala's release clause

What could make Dybala such an attractive proposition, despite his age and injury record, is his paltry release clause. Italian clubs would need to pay €20 million to sign the Roma man, but foreign clubs can land the Argentine for just €12m.

Of course, the World Cup winner and former Juventus star would likely command a sizeable wage, which could make agreeing personal terms difficult.

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According to Italian media, however, Pochettino is keen to test the waters regarding a potential deal as he sees Dybala as a solid option to add some more firepower to a Chelsea attack that struggled to consistently find the back of the net last term.