Sky Sports are reporting that the Italian pair of Juventus and Inter Milan are interested in Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku. It is being reported that Juventus are in pole position to sign the Belgian as they are willing to offer Paulo Dybala as a part of the deal.
It seems that the 26-year-old is on his way out of Old Trafford this summer, with the forward being left out of the club’s pre-season squad for their upcoming game in Oslo, Norway.
Lukaku has previously admitted his desire to play in Italy at some point in his career, he wouldn’t be the first Lukaku to play in Serie A- his brother Jordan currently plays for Lazio.
With Dybala being the subject of the swap deal as well as interest from Champions League finalists Tottenham, I am unsure whether it is a smart move for the Red Devils.
Manchester United are, according to most sports betting tips, priced at 41/1 to win the Premier League title this coming season – showing just how far off the pace they are with their current squad. With Solskjaer’s preferred style of play not suiting Lukaku this moves does seem to make sense in some ways, but not in others.
Lukaku has just endured his worst goal-scoring season for five years, only managing 12 goals last term.
The former Anderlecht striker has spent a majority of his career in England, with Chelsea, West Brom and Everton before his move to United and he has scored goals wherever he has been. In seven seasons in the English top-flight, Lukaku has scored 113 goals and assisted 35 in 252 appearances which is roughly a goal contribution every other game.
On the other hand, Dybala has obviously never played in the Premier League. But even in Serie A he has seen limited game time for Juventus, only managing 50 starts over the past two seasons.
The Argentina international was on fire two seasons ago, scoring 22 goals and assisting five in 33 appearances for The Old Lady, as they won their seventh Scudetto.
However the arrival of a certain Portuguese megastar saw Dybala’s game time reduced, it also saw him moved to various positions to compensate for Ronaldo. In turn, the former Palermo striker’s form took a nose-dive, only managing five goals and four assists in 30 appearances.
Swapping one out-of-form player for another is a massive gamble for United, but the fact that Lukaku is more accustomed to the Premier League would suggest that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be better off keeping the Belgian at Old Trafford this summer.
With United looking at Europa League qualification at best this coming season, according to the sports betting networks, maybe OGS should play safe with what he already knows.
