Manchester United were close to sealing a deal for Juventus star Paulo Dybala in exchange for Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku according to Lukaku’s agent, as per a report in the Mirror.
Dybala was inches away from a transfer to Old Trafford last summer but United backed out of the deal at the last minute according to agent Federico Pastorello.
The Red Devils were in negotiations with Juventus for an exchange deal of Dybala for Lukaku after the Belgian striker was deemed as surplus to requirements last summer, with Dybala reportedly unsettled as well.
However, Lukaku eventually joined Inter Milan for a fee of £73.7m but that was only after talks of a Dybala-Lukaku swap deal fell through.
The 26-year-old Argentine attacker was hoping for a contract of £8.7m-a-year with United which would have been a considerable upgrade on his current £6.5m-a-year contract with Juventus.
When quizzed as to whether Manchester United were close to signing Dybala, speaking to Tuttosport as cited in the Mirror, agent Pastorello said: “It’s true.”
“Romelu, however, had always hoped to go to Inter because he was impressed by the affection of the Inter fans.” he added.
Dybala could have been a marquee signing under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and would have added considerable quality and creativity in attack for United but the deal ultimately didn’t go through.