Palermo expect Manchester United target Paulo Dybala to sign new contract

Paulo Dybala will sign a new contract with Palermo in the coming days to ward off January interest from Manchester United and Arsenal.

Dybala, 21, has drawn comparisons with Manchester City star Sergio Aguero during his hugely impressive campaign in Serie A, where he has scored 10 goals to help his side settle into a comfortable mid-table position following their return to Serie A this season.

The Argentine's growing profile has seen him linked with moves to some of Europe's biggest clubs, with Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini recently claiming he had turned down an offer from Old Trafford.

But Zamparini is now confident the ex-Instituto starlet is ready to sign a contract extension with the club, in what appears to be an effort to drive up his price for an inevitable departure during the summer transfer window.

"He [Dybala] will renew his deal and sign a three-year deal," Zamparini told GR Parlamento. "And if he continues to play that well in the next six months then a big club from abroad will sign him.

"Where will he go? Abroad. In order I would say England, France, Germany and Spain, because the two big clubs in Spain [Real Madrid and Barcelona] already have a lot of forwards."

Should Dybala pen a new deal in the coming days, his valuation will likely skyrocket further, with Palermo already looking to recoup a fee similar to that of Javier Pastore, who the Serie A club sold to Paris Saint-Germain for €40m in 2011.

"He is a world-class player who is being compared with Javier Pastore, so his price tag matches the skill," said Zamparini. "We're talking £31m and upwards."