Manchester United and Juventus have a deal in principle that will see strikers Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala swap clubs, as per Sky Sport Italia.
Belgian international Lukaku has been on the verge of a Man United exit throughout the summer, though his preferred club has always been Inter Milan where manager Antonio Conte has publicly urged his own club to complete the deal.
Lukaku frustrated by Inter
However, Lukaku has reportedly become frustrated by Inter’s refusal to meet United’s minimum demands of €83m. The Nerazzurri have only bid €70m thus far.
Fabrizio Romana, a journalist for Sky Sport Italia, reports that United have now made an agreement with Juventus to change Lukaku’s future.
Juventus offer Dybala in exchange for Lukaku
The Italian champions have offered a deal including Argentinian striker Paulo Dybala to bring Lukaku to Turin. United are extremely interested in the offer and the only barrier to it happening is Dybala’s wishes.
The forward told Juventus that he wanted to stay and fight for his place at the club as long as two months ago after a poor season. Dybala’s form has plummeted since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Old Lady.
Dybala becomes the key
Sky Sport Italia insist that Dybala is now “the key of the deal” for all parties involved. It’s thought that Dybala will seek out a conversation with new Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri and if he is told he has no future at the club, he’ll leave. His preference remains to stay in Turin.
Inter Milan will now wait to see if Juventus complete the signing in the coming days before proceeding. They’ll have to sell a player to fund an €83m move for Lukaku.
The deal would be the second time in as many years that United have completed a part-exchange transfer. The most recent example saw Alexis Sanchez arrive at Old Trafford only to fail to have any kind of impact. Sanchez remains at the club but is a shadow of his former self.
Dybala, though, is only 25 and could be about to enter the peak of his career. He can play centrally as a number 10 or wide right. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be delighted to have someone of his quality and versitality as a replacement for Lukaku.
Solskjaer refuses to discuss Dybala deal
Asked about the Dybala rumours on Tuesday, Solskjaer said: “We’re working on one or two cases, but I’m not here to talk about any rumours or speculation about other team’s players.”