Ones that got away: Dybala, Pogba and the transfer sagas of 2019

The 2019 summer transfer window seems an age ago now. Gossip columns were donned by Bruno Fernandes' face over a will-he-won't-he transfer to Manchester United - he did eventually move to United in January and has, of course, excelled - while a host of other players also saw their name linked with a big money switch across the world.  

Here, we take a look at five players whose summer transfers failed to materialise and how they have fared in the months since.

Paulo Dybala - Juventus to Tottenham 

This is one deal that went to the wire over the summer as Tottenham were confident they could pull off a coup in luring Paulo Dybala to north London from Juventus. In the end, image rights proved the stumbling block and the Argentine remained in Turin. In the following months, their respective fortunes have following slightly different paths. For Spurs, they relieved Mauricio Pochettino of his duties in November and replaced him with Jose Mourinho and have lumbered through the campaign. 

Dybala, meanwhile, has become a key man for Maurizio Sarri's Juventus. The 26-year-old has returned a WhoScored rating of 7.37; only Cristiano Ronaldo (7.90) has earned better of all players for the Old Lady. With seven goals and four assists to his name, Dybala has bagged some clutch goals for Juventus, including strikes in wins over Inter, AC Milan and Atalanta. It could have been so different for Dybala had his move to Spurs gone through, but he is making the most of his opportunity to reaffirm his importance for the Serie A champions. 

Paul Pogba - Manchester United to Real Madrid 

Paul Pogba may yet move to Real Madrid later this year, but it was widely expected he would leave Manchester United for Los Blancos last summer with head coach Zinedine Zidane pushing to land his compatriot. As United pushed for Bruno Fernandes, it was expected the Portugal international's arrival would see Pogba leave for Spain, yet any move failed to come to fruition. Injuries have restricted the 27-year-old to just seven Premier League appearances, the last of which came in the 4-1 Boxing Day win over Newcastle, but Pogba has still impressed when called upon. 

Despite registering just 521 minutes of Premier League, only four players have made more accurate through balls than Pogba (5) in England's top tier this term and a rate of one every 104.2 minutes is the best of all top-flight players. The France international has come under criticism from quarters of the United fanbase this season, yet his WhoScored rating of 7.09 still shows that he has impressed when called upon. 

Gareth Bale - Real Madrid to Jiangsu Suning 

A return to England has often been mooted for Gareth Bale, whose Real Madrid career has been plagued by injuries. Tottenham has been a mooted destination for the Wales international, while Manchester United have routinely been linked with a move for Bale, yet a switch to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning came close to completion last July as it looked as though Real Madrid would finally shift the one-time world record transfer. 

However, at the last minute, the Real Madrid board blocked the transfer. Bale would've been earning a cool £1m a week in China on a three-year deal but has since gone to to make 14 LaLiga appearances for the Madrid side, starting 11 matches. His goal output has been underwhelming to say the least, however, with the 30-year-old netting just two league goals this term, both of which came in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal in September. It's likely Real Madrid will cut their losses with Bale sooner rather than later with Bale enduring a disappointing campaign by his standards. 

Callum Hudson-Odoi - Chelsea to Bayern Munich 

A saga that started in late 2018 and only really ended in September, Bayern Munich had pushed and pushed to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi in January and even handed in a transfer request to force a move to the Bavarian powerhouse after a £35m bid was rejected. An Achilles injury in April could have scuppered any move, but Bayern were still keen on landing Hudson-Odoi over the summer, only for the youngster to pen a five-year deal in September. 

Since the start of the campaign, the England international has made just seven league starts as head coach Frank Lampard manages his return to full fitness accordingly. Yet things could have been so different for Hudson-Odoi and Bayern, too. With Alphonso Davies now established as one of Europe's best left-backs, would that be the case had Hudson-Odoi ended up at the Allianz Arena? The teenager favoured the move to Munich, however this was a sliding doors moment that has seen Davies become one of the best full-backs in football.  

Since then, Hudson-Odoi has four assists and one goal, with his minutes per assist record of one every 192.3 minutes one of the best in the Premier League this season and a fairly commendable WhoScored rating of 6.63. 

Wilfried Zaha - Crystal Palace to Arsenal or Everton 

Wilfried Zaha has frequently been linked with a move away from Crystal Palace and the Eagles are understandably demanding top dollar for their prized asset from any interested party. That was very much the case with Arsenal and Everton last summer. The pair had courted the Ivorian winger, yet Palace value Zaha at around £80m, which has deterred potential suitors. 

Zaha may have just three goals and three assists to his name in the Premier League this season, yet he remains a vital member of Roy Hodgson's XI. 136 successful dribbles is second only to Adama Traore (145) in Europe's top five leagues this season and he provides a valuable outlet for the Eagles in the final third. Ultimately, the Gunners ended up spending big on compatriot Nicolas Pepe, whose arrival at the Emirates paved the way for Alex Iwobi to swap the red of Arsenal for the blue of Everton. And Zaha didn't allow constant rumours of a move away from Selhurst Park deter him as his WhoScored rating (7.06) shows.