Manchester United, Juventus Agree Dybala-Lukaku Swap
Dybala will meet with
head coach Maurizio Sarri this week to discuss his future
Manchester United and Juventus have agreed a swap deal in
principle involving Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku, according to sources in
Italy.
The deal is now said to hinge on Dybala agreeing terms with
United.
Jorge Antun, one of the player’s
representatives, is understood to be in London for talks with United over a
move to Old Trafford.
Dybala is valued at €100m (£91.8m) and is keen to
stay but wants to meet with head coach Maurizio Sarri before making a final
decision, according to sources. He will hold a meeting with the former Chelsea
boss this week.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, speaking after
Tuesday’s pre-season win over Kristiansund, would not be drawn on a potential
deal for Dybala but confirmed new arrivals could be in the offing.
“I’m not here to talk about any rumours or
speculation about other team’s players,” said Solskjaer.
“But of course, we’re working on one or two
cases, as I’ve said before.
“There’s another 10 days before we start the
league and hopefully we can announce a fresh face or two.”
Juventus must convince Dybala to make the move to
Manchester, as United would require a replacement for Lukaku.
If Dybala is unable to agree terms on a move to Old
Trafford, Lyon striker Moussa Dembele is also on United’s shortlist to replace
Lukaku.
Should the Argentine refuse to leave Turin, Juve
would have to come up with a cash deal but still offload one or more of their
current strikers.
Pavel Nedved, the Juve vice president, was
questioned on Dybala and Lukaku on Monday by our sources in Italy .
He said: “We have some offers for Paulo Dybala
but we’ll wait to decide about his future. Lukaku? We always try to get players
but I don’t want to speak about Lukaku or others.”
Juventus are understood to have moved ahead of
Inter Milan in the race to sign Lukaku, as we understand.
Inter director Giuseppe Marotta insists the Serie A
club “are still working” on a deal to sign Lukaku.
He also said Inter made “a fair and important
offer respecting the value of the player”, but it is understood that bid
of £54m was immediately rejected by United earlier this month.
Lukaku further fuelled speculation over his future
by posting an image on social media alongside his agent Federico Pastorello
over the weekend with the caption “soon to be continued”.
The Belgian is valued at more than £79m, what
United paid to Everton in 2017, and it is unlikely Inter will get close to this
without offloading players as they are mindful of working within Financial Fair
Play rules.
Sky Sports