Could Dybala play the Tadic-role for Man Utd?

Karan Tejwani

• 7 Jul 2022 03:45 CDT
• 4 min read

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Paulo Dybala, who has been a free agent since the expiry of his contract at Juventus at the end of last month.

The Argentine forward has been without a club since then, and was expected to move to rivals Inter, but such a transfer hasn’t materialized due to the high wage costs involved.

Instead, there have been other clubs linked with a move for Dybala, but no serious offer has been made, making Manchester United one of the top candidates.

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The news of Cristiano Ronaldo looking for a move away has intensified those links, given that the Red Devils will be lacking in their attacking line should the Portuguese leave.

Dybala signing could provide Ten Hag with options

Signing Dybala may not have been on new head coach Erik ten Hag’s list of priorities, but it may open up a possibility to revert to an old system that worked for him at Ajax.

Dybala’s versatility may be something useful to him, and he had a similar player at Ajax – Dusan Tadic – that allowed him to explore a variety of systems when he was the coach there.

At Ajax, Ten Hag used Ajax as a forward and a winger, and that was best displayed in the 2018-19 season, when he had different uses for Tadic in different competitions.

In the Eredivisie, he deployed Tadic as a winger, with Kasper Dolberg or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar playing as forwards, allowing Tadic’s creative skill to exploit opposition defences.

In the Champions League, however, he used Tadic as a forward, with Hakim Ziyech, Donny van de Beek and David Neres supporting him, and Tadic given the freedom to work anywhere in the attacking line.

It helped Ajax a lot, and created a brilliant European run where they reached the Champions League semi-final, beating Real Madrid and Juventus along the way with a fairly young side.

In later years, Tadic was used more as a winger, as Sebastien Haller joined and was deployed the primary forward, and Tadic moved permanently to the left wing, with Antony on the right.

Perhaps, there could be something similar for Dybala, who throughout his career, has played either as the second striker or the forward, as well as on the wing occasionally.

Given his creative repertoire, this may be something for Ten Hag to consider, and looking at the fact that it’d be a signing with no transfer fee, it may be something to look into for Manchester United as well.

The Red Devils have been linked with a move for Dybala in the past, but due to the high cost of the operation, nothing ever materialized, however, it could be different this year.

Across his career, Dybala has a good record for both goals and assists – his Juventus career ended with 115 scored and 48 created in 293 appearances, which is a decent record.

The big concern would be Dybala’s fitness: Tadic’s best attribute was his availability – since his signing for the Amsterdam side in 2018, he has played in every Eredivisie and Champions League match.

When available, Dybala may provide an attacking outlet, but perhaps Ten Hag would be looking for more; what’s certain is that there’s a strong option available in case he wants it, and it won’t be the costliest.