High profile swap deals so rarely come to fruition, but Manchester United could pursue their second in 18 months by trading Romelu Lukaku for Juventus forward Paulo Dybala.

Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January 2018 proved disastrous and is one reason why United are looking to re-mould their attack this summer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stated his intention to build a team with speed, width and attackers who can carry the ball and there is a vacant spot on the right side of their forward line.

Dybala is believed to be settled in Italy, but new Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri is a 4-3-3 dogmatist and that system does not have an obvious spot for a player of Dybala's ilk.

Could he be the player to offer a stale squad some inspiration in the manner of Eric Cantona, or will Dybala prove another expensive mistake like Sanchez or Angel di Maria?

What sort of player is Dybala?

Signing a player of Dybala's stature would bring welcome excitement and optimism to Old Trafford, even if the 25-year-old's stock is not quite as high as it was a year or two ago. The Argentine is ludicrously talented, left-footed, possesses a rocket of a long-range shot and can dribble through pressure in tight spaces.

While he might take Lukaku's squad place, he is not a replacement for the Belgian at all. Although he started his career as a centre-forward, Dybala has played his best football operating as a second-striker or No.10, drifting to the right side of the pitch to open up play with his left foot. This profile of player has had a rough few years in European football, with mercurial left-footers James Rodriguez and Mesut Ozil suffering the consequences of the primacy of pressing, intensity and repeat sprints. Dybala is not a playmaker in their mould - he is more like a less industrious version of Antoine Griezmann, not a midfielder but not quite a striker either.

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In fact, United would not really be signing a creative force in the traditional sense. In each of Dybala's four Serie A seasons for Juventus, he has scored more goals than he has provided despite 25 assists in that period. He is not a high-volume passer, averaging 45.54 passes per game and providing 5.56 passes into the final third per 90 minutes last season as well as 2.74 into the penalty area. For context, Tottenham's Christian Eriksen averaged 8.94 into the final third and 4.4 into the box last season. Ozil averaged 6.44 into the final third and 3.85 into the penalty area.

Dybala is more of a goalscorer than those Premier League creators though, and his best season was 2017/18 when he scored 22 in Serie A alone. Although last season was a disappointment with just five league goals as Juventus focused their attacks towards Cristiano Ronaldo, Dybala's Expected Goals per 90 across all competitions held steady at 0.35 - just better than a goal every three games. With Solskjaer keen to restore the vague concept of The United Way, Dybala's 5.78 dribbles per 90 minutes will interest those pining for the days when United had players on both sides taking defenders on.

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Although Dybala underwhelmed last year, one of his better performances came at Old Trafford in the Champions League. He caused Jose Mourinho's team all kinds of problems by dropping into the half-spaces to the side of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic and this seems the best use of his talents. In the below example, Dybala collects the ball, distributes it to the wing and then runs into the box to meet a cross that was just too high. Note how Victor Lindelof has been dragged out of position by his movement:

Paulo Dybala exploits the space between United's central midfielders

In this example just a few minutes later, Dybala exploits the space in between Matic and Pogba in a half when Juventus completely dominated and overwhelmed their hosts.

Dybal likes to drop deep and link play

So any United fans hoping Dybala can provide greater penalty box presence and threat will be disappointed. He operates as a deep-lying forward. Another important point is that Massimiliano Allegri offered Dybala a defensive platform and rigid structure to sprinkle his magic on top of, two things badly lacking at United in recent seasons. Sometimes Dybala had the insurance of two hard-working wide players such as Juan Cuadrado and Blaise Matuidi sweeping up behind him or the security of a midfield three if Juventus played the 4-3-2-1, or even an additional centre-half when Allegri played a back three.

How might United use him?

Dybala is really an upgrade on Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard, a linking player who can connect United to their forwards but also carry more menace and goal-threat himself. There have been whispers that Solskjaer envisages playing Dybala from the right which could be restrictive, although the one-on-one defending of Aaron Wan-Bissaka might afford Dybala the right to less defensive responsibility.

More fruitful would be a 4-2-3-1, morphing into a 4-4-1-1 when United are defending, with Dybala in a No.10 position. Without Lukaku, Solskjaer's centre-forward options appear Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial, two forwards who can stretch defences and create space for a No.10 to receive the ball. It would still leave a conundrum on the right hand side, where United have targeted Jadon Sancho, but Lingard could fill in.

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One concern with that system - if the player sticks around - is how to balance a team containing Paul Pogba and a No.10 given the reams written about how Pogba needs a 4-3-3 to be fully expressive. Pogba likes to make late runs into the penalty area as well as taking shots from range, and he and Dybala could tread on each other's toes. One solution could be a 4-3-3 with Dybala as a 'false-nine' supported by Martial and Rashford on either side. This has echoes of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, where the two main goal threats Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah attack the space between full-back and centre-back and the nominal 'striker' Roberto Firmino acts as a foil. Arsenal have the potential to do similar with Alexandre Lacazette through the middle and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe on either side.

Conclusion

Signing Dybala would be a piece of opportunism and without Champions League football it could prove too good to turn down. He does not exactly fill a precise need, in part because Dybala is an elusive, versatile forward who drifts into areas and is not tied down by a specific job. It would be imperative to support him with controlling, metronomic midfielders who can progress play and find him between the lines - the Michael Carrick replacement United are still waiting for. Right-wing and centre-half also need strengthening.

Dybala is a match-winner with the talent to get fans on the edge of their seats, attributes Old Trafford regulars understandably feel has been lacking. Defining his role and surrounding him appropriately would be the keys to making the transfer a real success though, and on that front the picture still looks murky with a novice coach and Ed Woodward pulling the strings in the transfer market.