Thomas Tuchel would be well advised to carefully analyse Cristiano Ronaldo's spell at Juventus when it comes to making a decision over Chelsea's strikeforce moving forwards.
The Blues are among several Premier League sides who are reportedly in talks to sign Paulo Dybala, with the 28-year-old open to leaving Turin when his contract expires in the summer, according to 90min.
The report claims that Chelsea face competition from Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United for the Argentina international's signature.
But while the deal may seem like an exciting one, in theory, Tuchel should consider Dybala's time alongside Ronaldo at Juve as a warning amid the Blues' clear need to improve offensively.
In the 2017/18 campaign, the Argentine directly contributed towards 27 goals in 33 Serie A appearances; the season prior to Ronaldo swapping the Santiago Bernabeu for the Allianz Stadium.
While Dybala played a hand in the Old Lady's eighth successive Scudetto the following season, his output was sacrificed, dropping to seven goals and assists in three fewer games.
Juventus had amended their setup and tactics to accommodate Ronald's arrival, which in turn had a direct impact on the attacking midfielder's own performances.
Dybala, who is valued at £45m by Transfermarkt, soon returned to his best but a series of injuries have hampered his progress in Italy.
Should Chelsea look to formalise any interest in Dybala, then Tuchel must first consider the time required to forge any sort of relationship with Romelu Lukaku, who like Ronaldo is a striker that doesn't participate all too often in general possession.
In Juventus' case, the decision to build around the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was warranted - as Ronaldo was scoring goals.
But the same cannot be said of the troubled Lukaku, whose own goalscoring exploits have deserted him and with Dybala appearing to need to be the main man in attack, the idea of a partnership between the two looks fanciful.
Lautaro Martinez benefited from Lukaku's presence at Inter and vice-versa. But he is clearly a striker who enjoys playing as part of a partnership, something of a rarity in today's game.
The Belgian striker has struggled to warrant his eye-watering £97.5m price tag since returning to Stamford Bridge and his worrying form has raised questions about his future among the fanbase.
Giorgio Chiellini's comments on Dybala to DAZN in the summer, via Football Italia, suggested that the Argentine was being held back by a talisman who bottlenecked attacking sequences.
"When you have a world-class player like Cristiano, you cannot help but use the team to play for him," the Italian centre-half said following Ronaldo's move to United in the summer.
"We must be grateful to Cristiano for all he did during these years at Juventus but we carry on.
"This will be Paulo Dybala's team. Over the last couple of years, he lowered his average goals because of Cristiano's presence, but he is a key player for this team and that is recognised by everyone."
If Dybala cannot be assured of a similar role at Chelsea, the Blues' sights should be elsewhere in their hunt for additional attacking reinforcements.
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