Manchester United are reportedly ready to cash in on out-of-favour striker Romelu Lukaku, with Inter Milan and Juventus the possible destinations.
According to a report by Daily Mirror, Manchester United are willing to part ways with Romelu Lukaku in the summer transfer window. The Premier League heavyweights are keen on replacing the out-of-favour Belgian striker with either Paulo Dybala or Mauro Icardi, with the forward open to joining Juventus.
Romelu Lukaku joined Manchester United from Everton in a big-money move in the summer of 2017. The player was quite impressive in his maiden campaign at Old Trafford as after a few hiccups midway through the season, he ended it as the club’s top scorer, with 27 goals.
2018-19 though, has been one to forget for Lukaku, who struggled for consistency under Jose Mourinho before dropping down the pecking order upon the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, having started just four of the 12 games that the interim Manchester United manager has overseen.
Overall, a return of 9 goals and 4 assists in 32 appearances across all competitions this season for Manchester United is quite poor. And, if the report is anything to go by, Lukaku might be in the final months of his stint with the Premier League heavyweights.
The Mirror claim that United are ready to cash in on the out-of-favour striker and replace him with a more mobile forward. They further add that Argentine duo Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi are their preferred candidates to replace Lukaku, having fallen out of favour with their managers at Juventus and Inter Milan, respectively.
In fact, Icardi was recently stripped of the club captaincy at Inter, with negotiations over a new contract reaching a head. And, United are ready to take advantage of the situation that both players find themselves in, by offering Lukaku as part of a deal to bring either of them to Old Trafford.
In the process, they will also be able to bring down their £100 million fee. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old prefers a switch to Juventus over Inter Milan, with the Bianconeri also linked with him in recent months as per widespread reports.
The move to see Dybala and Lukaku switch clubs might work out well for both clubs as well, considering the former can play out wide on the right flank – an area that is the Achilles Heel of the Manchester United attack – which also explains why the Red Devils have targeted him previously.
Lukaku, on the other hand, could potentially benefit from the slow pace of Serie A football, where the availability of more space might help him too. For now, a move to either of the two Italian giants could be a possibility as per the report, and it remains to be seen if the Belgian striker’s time at Manchester United comes to an end in the summer.
