This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Jose Mourinho has taken over at Tottenham Hotspur after the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino.
But even though he inherited a talented squad, it still remains to be seen what kind of changes will the Special One make in the upcoming months and especially with the opening of the transfer window.
Still, one transfer that Spurs probably wish had gone through over the summer is the one of Paulo Dybala from Juventus.
According to reports, the 26-year-old Argentine was extremely close to swapping Turin for London but some complications ended up derailing the whole deal and leaving Dybala under Maurizio Sarri’s hand in 2019/20.
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At that time, it seemed like no one profited from that choice. After all, the Argentine was not really an irreplaceable piece of the Bianconeri puzzle since he was in the starting lineup in just 24 games in Serie A and six in ten in the Champions League last season.
A departure to a club where he would have been a star, namely Spurs, could’ve benefited both sides and the player. But in the end, it didn’t come to pass.
And now, a couple of months after that summer saga, Dybala really is a star but at Juventus and not in London.
With seven goals in 17 games across all competitions, as opposed to only ten in 42 last campaign, he already looks like a player reborn.
Not to mention that three of those were in five Champions League clashes, including the winner against Lokomotiv Moscow and Atletico Madrid, when Dybala tallied the points for Juventus by himself.
By all means, he’s become the definition of a clutch player and one that could still go on to become an irreplaceable piece of any puzzle he’s part of, including Sarri’s.
But even with his emergence in the ongoing campaign, he’s still only started eight out of 14 games in Serie A and just two out five in the Champions League.
Even when he’s among the best, he still struggles to break into the starting XI.
And that’s where Tottenham Hotspur and more importantly, Mourinho, come in. After all, the Special One is bound to increase Spurs’ reputation, both on the biggest of European stages and in the transfer market.
He has a good squad but Dybala could finish his puzzle and would represent that star signing that could sway even the most doubtful of fans out there.
And seeing how Sarri is still leaving his talisman on the bench regularly, he could very well be tempted by a good sporting project, a fresh start and a starring role in a team far away from Turin.
Spurs look exactly like that team and with Mourinho at the helm, there’s no knowing how far can they reach.
They were close last summer and that means there’s a chance. Previous reports published shortly after the window had closed even suggested that they just might go for him in January.
And when everything is said and done, why not go back and bring someone so special to complement the arrival of a new coach? That would be a true statement to the footballing world by Daniel Levy.
Let’s see if he pulls the trigger.