Dybala offered no Juventus guarantees amid Man Utd & Bayern transfer talk

Dom Farrell

Dybala offered no Juventus guarantees amid Man Utd & Bayern transfer talk image

Paulo Dybala will start in attack alongside Gonzalo Higuain on Saturday against Bologna but Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri refused to give guarantees on the younger Argentina forward's future.

Juve will claim a seventh consecutive Scudetto this weekend if they beat Roberto Donadoni's side and nearest rivals Napoli lose to Torino on Sunday.

Higuain and Dybala have contributed 35 Serie A goals between them this season but it has still proved a mixed campaign for the pair.

Last weekend's dramatic late winner against Inter was Higuain's first goal in eight matches across all competitions, while Dybala - who has been linked with Bayern Munich and Manchester United - only featured as a substitute at San Siro having been hauled off at half-time in the 1-0 defeat to Napoli and sent off in the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid.

"Tomorrow Higuain and Dybala will play from the start," Allegri told a pre-match news conference.

"They have to score the goals that we need for the Scudetto.

"I won't decide if [Dybala] will go, it's a decision we'll need to take with the club. For sure Dybala has still room for improvement.

"He can become one of the best players in the world but it's up to him. He needs to sacrifice to reach his target. He is focused on these last games."

Massimiliano Allegri Real Madrid Juventus

Allegri's own future has also been a matter for discussion of late, with Chelsea and Arsenal both holding a reported interest in the former Milan boss.

Nevertheless, the 47-year-old again offered assurances he is content to remain at the Allianz Stadium, where he is under contract until the end of the 2019-20 season.

"I'm tied to Juventus and I'm happy here," he said.

"There's nothing more to say except that what matters is winning the seventh league title and the Coppa Italia."

Mario Mandzukic suffered a gashed ankle against Inter and will sit out this weekend, although Allegri hopes the Croatia forward will return for Wednesday's Coppa Italia final against AC Milan.

Claudio Marchisio and Rodrigo Bentancur are in contention to replace the suspended Miralem Pjanic in midfield.

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.