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What's the story?
Real Madrid have been linked with Juventus striker Paulo Dybala for some time now. It was even reported that Los Blancos were looking to sign the Argentinean in the last summer transfer window. According to Italian media outlet Rai Sport, via Calciomercato, the Spanish club will be going back for the striker in January.
The report also states that Real Madrid will be making a player-plus-cash bid for Dybala when they approach Juventus for the player in the winter transfer window, with midfielder Toni Kroos being the bait.
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Real Madrid and club president Florentino Perez have been long-term admirers of Dybala. Several media outlets had reported about the Spanish club's interest in the 24-year-old in August and claimed that they would make a huge bid for the player. However, it was confirmed that the young striker will be staying at Juventus when he changed his jersey number to 10 from 21.
The winter transfer window is still about a month away and the striker is already being linked with the defending La Liga champions.
Toni Kroos, who is being offered to Juventus as a part of a player-plus-cash deal for Dybala, signed a new contract that runs until 2022 with Real Madrid last year. It will be interesting to see if the club are willing to let the midfielder go to finalise a deal for their target.
The heart of the matter
Real Madrid have been linked with Dybala since he started shining for Juventus in the Serie A and the UEFA Champions League. Even though it is not clear how true it is, there were several rumours in the summer linking the striker with the Spanish giants.
And if the report from Rai Sport are to be believed, the club will be going back for the striker in the winter transfer window. The report from the Italian outlet also states that Perez is willing to offer Kroos (plus cash) to the Italian side in order to land the star striker at the Santiago Bernabeu.
This comes as a surprise as the German signed a new contract last year and has been an important part of the club since he joined. The amount of cash that the club is willing to give along with the player has not been mentioned in the report.
Video: Paulo Dybala's highlights from this season
Author's take
While the prospect of Dybala joining Real Madrid is exciting, offering Kroos in return for the player does not sound like a good idea. The Zinedine Zidane-managed side have been struggling to score goals in the league and they need some reinforcements in their front line.
The young Argentine striker could solve their goalscoring problems. However, losing Kroos could lead to the club having problems elsewhere. The 27-year-old is a consistent performer for Real and still is in his prime. It is too early to let go of him as he still has a lot to offer.
Also, Juventus will not want to lose their number 10 midway through the season and hence the chances of this rumours becoming true is low.
