Not dead yet — Spurs & Juventus considering Dybala loan to circumvent image rights issue

Normally when the BBC’s David Ornstein reports something we don’t question it, but there might be some new life in the Paulo Dybala transfer saga. The deal was declared off by the BBC just an hour ago over the issue of Dybala’s image rights, which he sold to a Maltese company when he was 15. Those are apparently not recognized in the UK, which means it gets real thorny real quick, and the clock is ticking.

However, the Italian media is not quite ready to admit defeat. Gazzeta dello Sport is writing this morning that Spurs and Juventus are now considering doing a temporary end-around to circumvent the rights deal issue temporarily in the form of a one-year loan for Dybala with an obligation to buy, something similar to what Spurs are doing with Giovani Lo Celso. That would give Spurs a year to figure out the image thing while still allowing the deal to go through.

Obviously, take all this with a huge grain of salt for now — other English publications like the Standard and the Independent are saying that Spurs fans shouldn’t get their hopes up that we’ll see a deal for Dybala go through before the window slams shut at noon ET. But if you’re the kind to be hopeful, here’s a glimmer of it.