Chelsea have been handed a major blow in the race to sign Paulo Dybala as a free agent in the summer transfer window. Thomas Tuchel's side have been heavily linked with the 28-year-old, with his contract at Juventus coming to an end imminently.
The Argentina international has decided to join Inter Milan once his deal ends with the Old Lady in June, according to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport. Dybala turned his nose up at a new deal with Juventus in March after Massimiliano Allgeri's side moved the goalposts.
Before Christmas, the Argentine had previously agreed a five-year extension with the Italian giants worth £6.8 million-per-year, according to 90Min. However, Juventus reportedly changed their tune and offered Dybala a revised contract to which he rebuffed.
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Despite his injury record, the forward has been one of the most coveted players in Europe. Dybala's impressive displays have attracted the attention of Chelsea, as well as many other Premier League sides, making him hot property on the free agent market ahead of the summer.
He's found the perfect balance between playmaking and goalscoring during his seven-year stint in Turin and had arguably emerged as the perfect profile to supplement Kai Havertz's growing role under Tuchel. He's featured 35 times for Juventus this season and directly contributed towards 20 goals.
Since arriving in Turin, Dybala's been central to much of the Old Lady's success lately and, more recently, relished a vice-captaincy role at the club. In February, the Blues, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City were all offered the chance to sign Dybala on a pre-contract agreement, according to 90Min.
The report claimed that Paris Saint-Germain and Inter were also interested. However, the English sides were reportedly not convinced that Dybala would leave the Bianconeri this summer after Tottenham were close to clinching Dybala's signature in 2019 before talks broke down over the player's image rights.
In March, Don Hutchinson claimed that Spurs would be the ideal fit for the 28-year-old. The former Liverpool midfielder told Premier League Productions, as quoted by HITC: "Paulo Dybala is a really, really good player. A technical player.
"Tottenham, I think would be the best fit for him. It just depends if he is fit enough and can play most games in the Premier League. It's a different task compared to Serie A and he hasn't played too many games for Juve this season."
"In an ideal world, he would like to stay in Serie A," he added. "But, if he comes to England, then I don't see him going to Manchester City, Liverpool or Man United etc.
"So, the best fit, for him, would be a club like Tottenham where he could be their Christian Eriksen a few years ago. He has to play as a 10."
Nonetheless, Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Dybala's set to pen a four-year-deal at Inter worth £5m per season, making him the joint-highest earner alongside former Arsenal transfer target Lautaro Martinez and Marcelo Brozovic.
