ESPN Argentina reported that a preliminary agreement already exists between Boca and Dybala, whose contract at AS Roma expires at the end of June. The club would pay no transfer fee — La Joya is available on a free — but his salary demands represent a significant commitment for an Argentine club operating outside Europe's financial ecosystem.
Selling Aranda, whose value will rise sharply if he makes Argentina's final 26 for the World Cup, is the mechanism Boca are planning to use to make that commitment work.
The irony of the plan is stark. Aranda — born on the same date as Boca legend Juan Román Riquelme and already described inside the club as the most exciting talent they have produced in years — could be sold to Europe to pay for Dybala's homecoming. One generational idol arriving as another one departs.
Aranda has been included in Lionel Scaloni's 55-man preliminary Argentina squad for the World Cup, listed as a forward. He scored an Olympic goal in the Copa Libertadores this season — a direct corner converted without a touch — and has been a regular starter for Boca despite being born in 2007. Argentine football's excitement about him is not speculative. Scaloni put him in the room with Messi, Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez.
Every match of the World Cup will be watched by European scouts. A standout performance or two would transform his market value and make the finances for the Dybala deal considerably more straightforward.
Boca captain Leandro Paredes has been a vocal advocate for bringing Dybala home, courting him publicly and privately throughout the season. Dybala has said that the Derby della Capitale against Lazio next weekend could be his final home appearance in Roma colours. He was pointedly absent from Argentina's preliminary squad — Scaloni's decision not to include him in 55 players felt like a statement.
Whether Aranda makes the final tournament squad, and what he does once on that stage, will shape the timetable for everything that follows in Buenos Aires.