He was a really talented young prospect with lots of potential when we signed him in 2015, and he looked like he was going to be the next big thing in that ’16-‘17 run to the CL finals. In the succeeding years after that he’s stagnated, regressed even, and never developed into that Agüero caliber star forward that we all envisioned he would become when we bought him from Palermo. Its safe to say that, at 29 years old, this is his peak as a player in terms of ability and physical prowess. In some ways he reminds me of Götze; a young player who looked like he would take the football world by storm but never lived up to the billing because his body let him down. I think Dybala would have really flourished if he played maybe 20-30 years ago when footballers got by on skill even if they were mediocre athletes. In this day and age where footballers are more athletes and less artisans, Dybala’s physical deficiencies are laid bare. He’s a relic of a bygone era. Im all for keeping him if his wage demands were less than €7 million annually and resigned on a 2+1 year optional deal, but if both him and his agent are standing firm on €8 million plus on a 5 year contract, I’d rather let him walk for free and see what we can get on the marker than be saddled with that contract.