There are reports from Spain that Newcastle United are interested in signing Argentine World Cup winner Paulo Dybala.

The 30-year-old attacking midfielder has a contract with Roma until the summer of next year, but he is said to have a release clause for EUR13M (PS11.3M), which would allow Newcastle to sign him this month.

That's if he wants to come to Newcastle although if Newcastle meet the release clause, Roma manager Jose Mourinho wouldn't be able to stop him from leaving the Rome club.

And if this happened this would hardly be for the long-term, with the player already 30.

But these are the types of deals Newcastle Sporting Director Dan Ashworth will have researched leading up to the January transfer window, which has opened today.

Premier League clubs Chelsea and Manchester United are also said to be keen on signing the player.

Dybala is an excellent player and he could certainly add to Newcastle's prowess in the final third, something we have been missing these last several weeks.

Here is his playing style ass detailed in Wikipedia:

A quick, creative, elegant, and agile player, with excellent technical ability and a low center of gravity, Dybala is known for his powerful and accurate shots from outside the box, dribbling skills, balance, and close control in limited spaces.

As well as his ability to beat opponents in one one-on-one situations and protect or hold up the ball for teammates with his back to goal.

A versatile forward, he is capable of playing in any offensive position.

Dybala was at Juventus for 7 seasons before joining Roma in the summer of 2022.

While at Juventus he played 293 games with 115 goals and 48 assists.

And currently at Roma has played 53 games with 22 goals and 14 assists.

These stats are excellent, and he could certainly do a job at Newcastle both this season and maybe two or three more seasons.

It will be interesting to see if this report has any truth to it.

But we also know that Dan Ashworth wants to sign players who will be long-term at Newcastle, so maybe this is a negative with Dybala, who may be past his best.

What do you think?