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Manchester United very nearly completed a stunning swap deal that would have seen Romelu Lukaku head to Juventus - and Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic BOTH move to Old Trafford.
Lukaku signed for United from Everton in a £75 million transfer in 2017 but never quite felt like a good fit with the Red Devils despite hitting double figures in the Premier League in the double consecutive seasons.
Unfancied by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he departed for Inter Milan in 2019 - with United recouping the majority of the fee they splashed out to land him.
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But according Lukaku's agent, Federico Pastorello, the Belgian had an agreement with Juventus and held conversations with both Maurizio Sarri and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He claims United would have got two of Juventus' prized assets in return, but Dybala's wage demands proved to be a stumbling block.
“Is it true that Lukaku was one step away from Juventus before moving to Milan? Yes,” Pastorello told Tuttosport.
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“The deal with Inter had stalled because (Inter chairman Steven) Zhang seemed unwilling to meet Manchester United’s demands. Juventus had the agreement with the English club, who in exchange for Lukaku would have signed Dybala and Mandzukic.
“Romelu had already talked to [Maurizio] Sarri and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Dybala and Manchester United, probably both not too convinced, did not reach an agreement.”
Dybala in particularly was heavily linked with United but is still with the Bianconeri now, while Mandzukic ended up playing for Al-Duhail and Milan before retiring and taking up a role with the Croatian national team.
At Inter, Lukaku hit 64 goals in 95 games and fired them to a first Scudetto title since 2010.
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He returned to Chelsea in a £97.5 million switch in the summer.
Featured Image Credit: Image: PATopics: Manchester United, Romelu Lukaku, Juventus, Paulo Dybala