Paulo Dybala looks set to leave Juventus at the end of this season, with his contract expiring at the end of June. The 28-year-old has failed to agree a new deal with Juve, with the club unwilling to change their terms, and Dybala will now begin talks with a number of interested parties after a successful seven years in Turin.
Dybala has registered a total of 19 goal contributions in just 29 appearances so far this season, highlighting the quality the Argentine possesses and what he could offer to his new club next season.
Tottenham have already conducted business with the Old Lady this season, completing deals for Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, and Spurs could look to bring in Dybala this summer to help strengthen their attacking options for next season.
So, if Dybala was to make the move to Spurs in the summer, what sort of impact could he have under Antonio Conte? Could the Argentine attacker help Spurs win silverware next season? We simulated the 2022/23 season with Dybala in Spurs' squad and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Paulo Dybala for Tottenham in July 2022
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Dybala to join Spurs at the start of the 2022/23 season, using FM22 to run the simulation. This is what Dybala's in-game profile looks like on FM22.
Paulo Dybala is one of the most talented attackers in Europe, with the ability to play as a playmaker and striker. The Argentine forward's technical attributes put him amongst the elite attackers in world football with exceptional Technique (19), First Touch (19), Dribbling (18), Long Shots (18), Passing (17), Free Kick Taking (17), Penalty Taking (16) and Finishing (15), matched with his brilliant Agility (16) and Balance (18). Let's take a look at how Dybala performed throughout the 2022/23 season after signing for Spurs in July 2022.
The 28-year-old scored a total of 14 goals and registered eight assists in his 46 appearances in all competitions for Spurs. Dybala ranked third in the squad in terms of goal contributions (22), only behind Harry Kane (34) and Heung-Min Son (30), highlighting the impressive impact he had in his debut season.
Under Conte, the Argentinian international was utilised on the right-wing alongside Kane and Son in attack, with Kulusevski dropping to the bench and being used as a rotation option for multiple positions due to the Swede's versatility. Dybala averaged a match rating of 7.21 in all competitions, ranking him as the third-best performer in the Spurs squad, only behind Son (7.44) and Kane (7.56), suggesting that the former Juve attacker became a consistent and key player under Conte.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Spurs XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Tottenham's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022.
Full Spurs best XI (5-2-3): Lloris; Royal, Romero, Dier, Sanchez, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Bentancur; Dybala, Son, Kane.
So, how did Spurs perform in the league and cup competitions after signing Dybala at the start of the 2022/23 season?
Tottenham's results from the 2022/23 simulation
Tottenham finished third in the Premier League with Dybala in the squad, qualifying for the Champions League ahead of Manchester United and Arsenal, in what was a successful season.
Spurs finished the season with just six defeats, only bettered by Liverpool (2), but due to their relatively high number of draws (10), Conte's side finished five points below Manchester City in second.
Compared to the 2020/21 season, Conte's side finished four positions higher in the table, with 14 more points and a better goal difference by +2 (+25), suggesting that Dybala's impact on the squad helped them move up the table and close the gap to Man City and Liverpool, whilst leapfrogging Chelsea, United and Arsenal.
In the Carabao Cup, Spurs suffered a shock defeat to Everton in the third round as Conte's side lost 2-1 to Everton after Joe Rodon opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, with Dybala rested for the fixture.
Spurs put in a better performance in both the FA Cup and Europa League, reaching the semi-final stage in both competitions, but the Lilywhites were unable to reach either final after defeats to Aston Villa at Wembley and Barcelona in extra-time of the second leg at home.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that if Spurs were to sign Paulo Dybala ahead of the 2022/23 season, the forward could have an impressive debut campaign, with Dybala scoring 14 goals and registering eight assists in this simulation, in which he became a key player under Conte and was a consistent attacking threat alongside Son and Kane.
Dybala was able to help fire Spurs into the top four and close the gap to Man City and Liverpool in the table, but Spurs' defensive frailties hampered their ability to reach a cup final, with Conte's side reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup and Europa League.
Would you like to see Paulo Dybala sign for Tottenham? Let us know in the comments!
