Jeez, you might as well rename Manchester as Turin at this point...
Amid reports of Manchester United and Juventus agreeing a mega-swap deal for Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku, another report out of Italy suggests either Mario Mandzukic or Blaise Matuidi could also be heading to Old Trafford too.
Sport Mediaset in Italy says that one of Matuidi or Mandzukic have been discussed as a potential makeweight in any deal.
Which player do United need more?
With the attacking talents they already possess and their philosophy to only have pure pace in the forward areas, surely that rules out a move for Mandzukic. The Croatian striker has been a huge success for many years across Europe with Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and at Juve, but at 33 he is coming towards the end of his career and pace is not one of his top attributes.
Matuidi seems like a better fit for this current United squad, especially if Paul Pogba leaves in the final week of the window.
The French international, 32, has quality on the ball but his energy and defensive capabilities would be ideal in replacing Ander Herrera in the engine room. He also formed a great partnership with Pogba during France’s 2018 World Cup success last summer and he may be key in getting Pogba to remain at United this summer. The jury is still out on Nemanja Matic and Fred as central midfield options, while Scott McTominay has had a very good preseason but is still young. Adding Matuidi as a sweetner in this Dybala-Lukaku swap deal would be very decent for United.
But maybe this is all part of the plan for Juventus to buy Pogba in the next few days, as they send Matuidi and plenty of cash the other way.
Dybala and Matuidi for Pogba and Lukaku doesn’t seem like the best deal for United, but if Juventus chuck in say $70-75 million too, then that would be a deal that is too good to turn down.
