Tottenham target Paulo Dybala told to ‘stop imitating Lionel Messi’ as Francesco Totti vows to tempt forward to Jose Mourinho’s Roma next season

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has encouraged outgoing forward Paulo Dybala to 'go back to being himself' and stop trying to imitate Lionel Messi.

The Argentine will leave Juventus when his contract expires later this month following a successful seven-year spell in Turin.

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He leaves Juventus having netted 115 goals in 293 appearances, picking up five Serie A titles and four Coppa Italia successes.

Of the 293 appearances in the famous back and white shirt, Dybala has played 221 of them under Allegri who returned to the club for a second spell in charge in 2021.

But he has accused Dybala of trying to be too much like ‘the new Messi’ rather than developing his own game.

“Dybala has to go back to being himself. There was a moment when he got carried away by being the new Lionel Messi,” Allegri told DAZN.

“You cannot copy or emulate someone else. Paulo has a lot to give to football, he has extraordinary technical qualities, but he has to go back to focusing on the latter.”

Dybala is yet to announce his next destination with a host of suitors eyeing a move for the Argentine forward.

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Inter Milan have held talks with the player’s representatives but no deal has been reached yet.

Former Juventus boss Antonio Conte is keen to sign Dybala for Tottenham but in recent days, Jose Mourinho’s Roma have been linked with a move for him.

Club legend Francesco Totti hopes to play a part in convincing Dybala to move to the Stadio Olimpico regardless of the club’s stance.

“We’ll see if we can bring him to Rome,” Totti told . “I’ll meet him on Monday and I hope to convince him.

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“We’re in Milan for [Samuel] Eto’o’s match, we’ll play together and I’ll give him some advice.

“I’ll try to put something in his head, hopefully we’ll succeed. That is if Roma are of the same mind as me.”