Juventus Transfer News: New Paulo Dybala Summer Exit Rumours Emerge

New rumours involving Juventus star Paulo Dybala and Barcelona have emerged in Spain, with the sensational reports saying the Blaugrana twice rejected the opportunity to sign La Joya.

According to El Chiringuito de Jugones (h/t Football Italia), the former Palermo man made the decision to leave the Italian champions this summer, but the Catalans twice said no.

On the first occasion, they reportedly feared he would not be compatible with Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho―who ended up staying at Liverpool―and with a few days to go in the window, they again decided against pulling the trigger on the deal.

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The report stands in stark contrast to just about all of the signals Dybala's camp gave this summer and toward the end of last season. The 23-year-old penned a new deal in April and took the iconic No. 10 shirt in August, before dismissing rumours he was moving to La Liga, per the New York Times (h/t Football Italia).

Plenty of reports emerged late in the summer of a possible bid from the Catalans, but Goal's Ben Hayward even doubted those rumours:

Barcelona had to replace Neymar during the summer after the Brazilian departed for Paris Saint-Germain, and the club's focus appeared to be on Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele throughout the process.

The latter eventually joined the club from Borussia Dortmund, while the saga surrounding the former was long and ugly but eventually led to nothing. As shared by Anfield HQ, the Brazilian and the Reds have taken their first step toward repairing the relationship:

Dybala never seemed a realistic target for the Catalans after he renewed and changed his shirt number, but even before then, there were questions. As a left-footed forward who specialises at playing in between the lines in a free role, he occupies the same spaces on the pitch as Messi does, making his fit questionable at best.

The acquisition of Dembele―who plays the game in a similar way to Neymar―negated the need for another forward, and if Dybala had followed the Frenchman to Spain, one of the two would have had to settle for a bench role. At a price tag of around £100 million for either player, that would have been difficult to explain to the fans.

Dybala may one day end up at the Camp Nou, but it will likely be once Messi or Luis Suarez starts to slow down, and he's in his prime. He would make an excellent replacement for his compatriot in particular, but at this point in time, a transfer wouldn't have made a lot of sense.