Analysing the Importance of Paulo Dybala to Juventus

Juventus went into the winter break as arguably Serie A’s most in-form side, winning their seven league matches prior to the festive period to climb up to fourth place in the table. Having been as low as 14th earlier in the campaign, the Bianconeri have clearly made huge strides forward over the last two months.

As discussed in this previous post, the patience and decision-making made by coach Massimiliano Allegri have been paramount to that resurgence, but he has been helped by some impressive performances from his players.

Gigi Buffon has been consistently excellent, while new arrivals Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado have made a strong impression, helped by the efficient quality of Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira in midfield.

With two goals in their most recent victory over Carpi, Mario Mandzukic underlined his importance to the Bianconeri, but it is perhaps the man alongside him in attack who has been the most influential figure for Juventus in 2015/16.

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Leading the side with 10 goals, Paulo Dybala has also weighed in with three assists, quickly establishing himself as an indispensable member of the team following his summer move from Palermo.

According to their official website, the Turin giants paid €32 million—with a further €8 million in potential bonuses—for the Argentinian striker, and he has already begun to repay that investment. As well as scoring himself, he has been a creative spark with statistics courtesy of Squawka showing he has created 34 clear chances for his team-mates.

Dybala’s impact has been even more impressive when considering he has done so while learning to play a new role, explaining the differences in what Allegri expects from him during an interview with Sky Italia earlier this month.

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"When I arrived I thought I would be playing as a centre-forward like I had done at Palermo," the player said via Juve’s official website. "The boss asked me instead to operate a little deeper and get involved in the play as much as possible."

He has certainly done just that, with perhaps December's 2-0 victory over Lazio showcasing just how vital Dybala is to Juve. Scoring one wonderful goal and forcing defender Santiago Gentiletti into netting past his own goalkeeper, he single-handedly won the game for the Bianconeri against a tough opponent.

Indeed, as the graphic in the tweet below shows, two of his four shots resulted in goals, while 21 of his 28 pass attempts found their intended target. Attempting to take on a Lazio defender on eight separate times and successful in six of them, he also recovered the ball on no fewer than 10 occasions.

Constantly involved in the action as he has been all year, it was far from Dybala’s only match-winning performance, with the 22-year-old making a series of telling contributions throughout the campaign.

He has been widely praised for his efforts, with compatriot Juan Sebastian Veron telling Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia) “Paulo has more class” than former Bianconeri striker Carlos Tevez. He also told the Turin-based newspaper “not everyone can get to Juventus so young and immediately be a leader and score so many goals.”

Dybala has done just that, but his coach believes his front man can do even more, as he told Mediaset Premium last month. “I always knew Dybala was good,” Allegri said (h/t George Rinaldi of Forza Italian Football). “I know this because I see him in training. He is still growing and has great qualities, which he is showing on the pitch.”

That is a frightening prospect for the rest of Serie A, with Dybala clearly already an important figure for the reigning champions.