Ronaldo gives Juventus green light to sign Lukaku
Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly told Juventus he's happy to play alongside Lukaku, for whom the club has offered Man United a swap deal involving Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic.
Cristiano Ronaldo has given Juventus his blessing to sign Romelu Lukaku from Manchester United, according to reports.
The Portuguese talisman has reportedly told Juve’s hierarchy that he is happy to play with the 26-year-old Belgian striker, whom the club see as a perfect fit at the Juventus Stadium due to his age, strength and goal-scoring prowess.
Juve are understood to have offered United two strikers, Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala, plus £10 million (11 million euros) in exchange for Lukaku, who has struggled to live up to his price-tag at Old Trafford since arriving from Everton for 85 million euros in 2017.
On Tuesday, Sky Italy reported that Dybala’s agent met Manchester United representatives in London to discuss his potential move to Old Trafford.
If his agent can agree satisfactory terms with United, it would allow Juventus and the Old Trafford board to move forward on the proposed swap deal that could be a satisfactory arrangement for all parties involved.
A new look Juventus under Sarri
If the deal goes ahead, Lukaku would come into replace Mandzukic and Dybala as the central pivot in a 4-3-3 formation, with Cristiano Ronaldo on the left and Federico Bernardeschi, Douglas Costa or Juan Cuadrado on the right.
Juventus have undertaken a major squad rebuild this summer ahead of new coach Maurizio Sarri’s first season in charge, where Champions League glory will be the utmost priority for the club’s board.
The Turin outfit has cleared out several players to make room for the likes of the world’s most expensive defender Matthijs De Light (85 million euros, Ajax), centre back Cristian Romero (26 million euros, Genoa), and central midfielders Aaron Ramsey (free, Arsenal) and Adrien Rabiot (free, PSG).