4 Reasons Juventus should sell Paulo Dybala during the winter transfer window
By John Vaccaro
1. He won’t fit in Juve’s system
In January 2017 Juventus followed a loss to Fiorentina by making a major tactical change. Manager Massimilano Allegri shifted Juventus into a 4-2-3-1 formation or their next match at home against Lazio and that’s been the main formation for the year and a half since.
It was perfect at the time. It gave arguably the best defensive team in the world extra attacking options. More importantly, it allowed Paulo Dybala to move from his position as a striker into an attacking midfield role that he was much better suited for. It wasn’t until Juve ran into Real in the Champions League final the the formation’s fatal flaw was revealed.
The 4-2-3-1 is weak in the midfield and has been overrun by teams with strong midfields. Real, Barcelona, Tottenham, and Napoli have all been able to take advantage of Juve’s deficiencies. Unfortunately, for Dybala Juve will struggle to find a formation that includes him and a stronger 3-man midfield.
Last season we saw Allegri use a 4-3-3 in some big matches with a lot of success. In the 4-3-3 Juventus was able to beat Real and Roma on the road and Inter at home. They also annihilated Sassuolo 7-0 at home in the 4-3-3. They did this mostly without the involvement of Dybala. He even found himself on the bench for stretches last season where Juve used this formation. He struggled as the lone striker in the 4-3-3 when given the chance. If Allegri’s early season choices are any indication, we could see the same situation again this year.
Juventus has played the 4-3-3 for 2 of the first 3 matches and their match against Lazio was their best performance so far this season. They will need to continue to use this formation going forward if they hope to hold onto the Scudetto and chase a Champions League trophy. There’s also another player who has looked more comfortable in the 4-3-3 that will be more important to Juve’s Champions League run.