Chelsea and Barcelona have reportedly collected ‘preliminary information’ in talks regarding Roma forward Paulo Dybala, such as his ridiculously low transfer fee.

Other than a very brief spell in his native Argentina, Dybala has always played in Italy. He began at Palermo, and after a third season in which he banged in 13 goals alongside 10 assists, he was snapped up by Juventus.

In 293 games for the Old Lady, the attacker scored 115 goals and assisted 48 times.

Throughout his career, he’s been tipped for big European moves, with a lot of Premier League sides having been linked for a while, particularly while he was starring at Juve.

But he remained in Italy after leaving the club, and has been at Roma for the past two seasons – in both of which he’s bagged at least 14 goals in all competitions, and should add to that tally this season.

He’s also remained a tremendous provider, with nine assists so far this term following on from eight last season.

Now 30 years old, he could be entering the final stages in which it would be possible for him to move on from Italy and look to make a mark in another country before his career winds down.

It’s said Chelsea and Barcelona are looking to give him that chance.

Chelsea, Barca seek to confirm release clause

That’s according to insider Rudy Galetti, who states that while Dybala is awaiting discussion of a new contract with Roma – his current one expires in 2025 – both clubs have got into contact.

It’s stated they have ‘collected preliminary information’, with his release clause specifically mentioned.

It was revealed by Fabrizio Romano previously that foreign clubs could sign Dybala for just over £10million.

A number of outlets suggest that clause remains active, and if it’s confirmed that is the case, either side could be in for a bargain transfer.

Bargain signing of Dybala ideal for both

For both the Blues and Barca, signing such an accomplished goalscorer for such a low fee would be particularly ideal.

Chelsea have not had a deadly striker up top for years, and are looking at the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney. But all of those stars will cost a bomb, and Todd Boehly needs to be conservative, as he’ll already have to ship out a lot of talented Chelsea players to make transfers.

As such, getting Dybala – who has scored one league goal fewer than Osimhen this season but will cost around £100million less – through the door, would be a smart piece of business.

Barca have their own financial problems at the moment, and they have hardly spent any money in the past two transfer windows because of them.

They are looking to sign Joao Felix after his loan from Atletico Madrid, but might not be able to afford him unless a lot of money is made through sales first.

As such, Dybala could be a useful replacement if the signing of the Portuguese is not possible.