Tottenham Hotspur's chances of signing Paulo Dybala in January might just be growing shorter by the day.
Spurs made a big push to try to bring the 25-year-old Argentine to north London in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.
However, problems with third party ownership of Dybala's image rights meant any potential deal was scuppered as all sides failed to find an agreement on the issue before the 5pm deadline on Thursday.
There was some hope that Tottenham might revisit the transfer in January depending on how the forward's situation at Juventus plays out in the coming months.
However, his manager Maurizio Sarri appeared to suggest at the weekend that the 'embarrassing' situation at the Serie A giants with their bloated squad means Dybala could even miss out on playing Champions League football this season.
While it means the player would not be cup-tied for a winter move, it could push Dybala out of the door before January with many foreign transfer windows still open and PSG believed to be keen on bringing him in as a replacement for Neymar, who is being heavily tipped to return to La Liga this month.
"I can talk about Paulo all I like, but the market goes in a certain way and then whatever I say counts for nothing," Sarri said.
"I think he has the right characteristics to play as a false centre forward. But in any case, we have to cut six players from the Champions League list.
"Our situation is difficult, almost embarrassing, because we run the risk of leaving out players of a really high level.
"It's a situation we have to resolve and it is not just about the decisions made by coach or club."
