Report: Manchester United's £70m-plus-Mkhitaryan bid for Serie A star rejected

What's the story?

According to rumour mills in Europe, Juventus have rejected Manchester United's cash-plus-player deal for their star forward Paulo Dybala. The Serie A giants are keen to hold on to their Argentine talisman and will only consider bids in the region of £140m, according to Daily Star.

Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho has reportedly made Dybala his top target after it was revealed that Antoine Griezmann would not be made available by Atletico Madrid. "Atletico doesn't want to sell Griezmann either now or in the summer," chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin had said earlier this week.

It is why Mourinho has shifted focus to the 24-year-old. However, the Turin-based club have no interest in taking United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan on board.

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Dybala has already scored 17 goals this season and has been targeted by many clubs. However, his price tag is what has kept many clubs at bay.

The Argentina international has a contract with The Old Lady until the summer of 2022. But, at the same time, he had made no promises about staying on in Turin in the future.

"I can't promise I will stay at Juventus forever. It does not depend on me, but I don't even want to say that this will be my last season here." - Dybala

Heart of the matter

Mourinho is in all kinds of trouble in the forward department as the season moves into the new year. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who only just returned to the squad, has been ruled out for a month with a recurrence of the knee injury that threatened to end his career while Romelu Lukaku has now been sidelined for a couple of matches after suffering a concussion.

Paulo Dybala has scored 14 goals from 13 starts in Serie A this season

With Griezmann unlikely to move to England with Barcelona heavily linked with the French forward, Mourinho has no choice but to look at other options - especially after Griezmann backed out at the last minute in the summer when Atletico's transfer ban was not lifted.

The Mirror report that Paul Pogba is also looking to convince his former teammate to join him at Old Trafford.

Video: Paulo Dybala's highlights from this season

Author's take

Mourinho has spent tons of money in the market and looks no closer to building a squad that is capable of winning the Premier League title with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City now marching away into what could be a 16-point lead once they have played their game in hand.

The Portuguese boss thrives on building teams with star players but Dybala himself may not make a move mid-season with Juventus also in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. He would be cup-tied if he moved in January.

With a Serie A challenge also on his radar (Juve are a point behind leaders Napoli), a move to United in January would be a step backward. In all likelihood, he will only leave Juve in the summer - whether it is to United or elsewhere.