Jose Mourinho is bidding to steal a march on Manchester United and Arsenal in the race to snap up Paulo Dybala.
Dybala is being courted by a host of European clubs after running down his contract at Juventus. The Argentine forward has spent the last seven years at the Allianz arena, where he netted 115 goals in 293 games, and is now set to be one of the most coveted free agents on the market this summer.
The 28-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Tottenham also amongst the clubs chasing a deal for the five-time Serie A winner - but they could be thwarted in their bid to lure Dybala to England by a familiar face.
According to a new report from TyC Sports, via Football Italia, Mourinho is set to try and persuade Dybala to remain in Italy and join his project at AS Roma. However, the Italian outfit - who were crowned Europa Conference League winners earlier this week - will be unable to offer Dybala Champions League football.
Roma could also struggle to meet Dybala's reported €7million (£5.95m) salary demands, although Corriere dello Sport have claimed that Giallorossi director Tiago Pinto is hoping to sidestep that issue by tabling an offer worth €5m (£4.25m) plus bonuses that will increase as time goes on.
Mourinho's interest in Dybala will come as a bitter blow for United, Arsenal and Spurs, who are all in the market for attacking reinforcements this summer. Mourinho had spells managing both United and Spurs before he was appointed by Roma last year.
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Inter Milan are another club who are reportedly set to make Dybala an offer, although the striker is not expected to make a decision over his future for 'at least two to four weeks'.
Dybala bid an emotional farewell to Juventus earlier this month, with the long-serving forward pictured leaving the Turin pitch in floods of tears. The forward then penned an emotional goodbye message to the fans on social media - where he admitted that his time at the Allianz Arena had been 'magical'.
He wrote: "It is difficult to find the right words to greet you, there are so many years and so many emotions involved, all together. I thought we would be together even more years, but fate puts us on different paths.
"I will never forget everything you made me experience, every game, every goal. With you I grew up, I learned, I lived and I dreamed. It has been 7 years of magic, 12 trophies and 115 goals that no one will take away from us. Never."
