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Andrea Pirlo plays down Paulo Dybala to Manchester United links

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 20 December 2020

Pirlo plays down Dybala to Man Utd links

Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo affirms that Paulo Dybala is a fundamental part of his plans amid speculation surrounding a potential move to Manchester United.

Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo has played down speculation linking Paulo Dybala with a move to Manchester United.

With the Old Lady supposedly hopeful of bringing Paul Pogba back to Turin, Dybala has been tipped to head in the opposite direction as part of a swap deal for the midfielder.

However, Pirlo has since stated that Dybala is an integral part of his team at Juventus, with the Argentine about to enter the final 18 months of his deal with the Serie A champions.

When asked by reporters if Dybala was important, Pirlo responded: "Absolutely. Champions like him are always fundamental in strong teams.

"I train all the players. Dybala is one of them. His behaviour is great. Unfortunately, he's got this little injury, and yesterday he tried to force it, but he was worried he would hurt himself even more. We hope to have him back on Tuesday."

Dybala has amassed 97 goals and 38 assists for Juventus since arriving from Palermo, but the 27-year-old has only started five top-flight matches in the 2020-21 season.