Lionel Messi and Mauricio Pochettino have already given Paulo Dybala a glowing review ahead of potential move to Chelsea this summer. The 29-year-old forward has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge lately as the Blues look to further bolster their frontline options.
Dybala, who sees his contract at the Stadio Olimpico expire in 2025, featured 25 times for Roma in the Serie A last season, directly contributing towards 19 goals. The Argentina international's impressive performances helped Jose Mourinho's side reach the Europa League final and beat Juventus to a top-six spot.
According to Italian journalist Matteo De Santis, as quoted by RomaPress, Chelsea are considering a move for Dybala, who has been specifically requested by Pochettino. Despite his mere €12million (£10.3million) release clause, the report states that Roma aren't concerned by the Blues' interest and they're confident that they can keep him on board for next term.
While the west Londoners shouldn't need convincing that Dybala is among the top forwards in Europe, Messi and Pochettino have both previously heaped tremendous praise on their fellow countryman. In 2015, at the age of 21, the Roma star was handed his first call-up to the senior national team after bursting onto the scene at Juventus.
"Paulo is a great player and he has a bright future ahead of him," Messi told Tuttosport amid Dybala's rise to prominence. "I have no doubt about it that people will talk about him a lot over the next few years."
Then, a couple of years later once Dybala had established himself as one of Europe's top forwards, he claimed that he was struggling to play alongside Messi for Argentina. The duo share a number of striking similarities; preferred foot (left); position; play-style; ball-striking motion; areas of the pitch which they're most effective.
"I spoke to Paulo about [those comments] – what he said is the truth," Messi explained to FoxSports, as quoted by Goal. "At Juventus he plays just like me, we look for the same spaces.
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"Alongside me in the national team he had to play more on the left, maybe he's not so used to that. It is harder for us to play there, I rarely venture down the left-hand side.
"On the right we can cut inside and we have the whole pitch in front of us," added the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. "The truth is that I understood exactly what he meant, there was nothing that needed clarifying."
Then, in 2018, ahead of the Champions League clash between Tottenham and Juventus, Pochettino put Dybala on the same pedestal as Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar. The Chelsea target was injured and unavailable for the tie, which the former Spurs boss thought would be a major factor in his side's hopes of progressing in the tournament.
The Old Lady waltzed away 4-3 victors on aggregate. As quoted by Football Italia, Pochettino said: "He’s a great footballer and Juve is a different team when he’s on the pitch and when he’s not.
"Like Messi, Cristiano and Neymar, he has the ability to give the team lots of alternative options. It will be tougher for Juve [playing without Dybala].
"But they have many other players, like [Federico] Bernardeschi. We want to reach the same level as Juve with the same motivation as them."
