Manchester United came tantalisingly close to signing Paulo Dybala from Juventus last summer, according to the agent of Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgium international had been deemed surplus to requirements by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and eventually joined Inter in September as United recouped £73.7million of the £75m they paid Everton in the summer of 2017 for Lukaku’s services.
After several bids from Inter were rejected, the 26-year-old appeared destined for a move to Turin with United exploring the possibility of a swap deal involving Dybala, who was unsure of a starting place under Maurizio Sarri given the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and return of Gonzalo Higuain from his loan spell at Chelsea.
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The Argentina international, however, was reported to have demanded a significant wage increase to €10m-a-year from €7.5m, while the MEN claimed his representative was holding out for an ‘extraordinary’ fee.
United were reported to have backed out of the deal given the financial implications and were concerned about compromising the development of Mason Greenwood, who has enjoyed an eye-catching breakthrough season at Old Trafford, scoring 13 goals in all competitions.
Tottenham, meanwhile, attempted to make a late swoop for Dybala but the player eventually decided to commit to Juventus, while Lukaku sealed his dream move to Inter and teamed up with Antonio Conte, who had been desperate to sign him during his second season at Chelsea.
It could have all been very different, however, with Lukaku’s agent Federico Pastorello confirming a deal to take Dybala to United was close.
‘It’s true,’ he told Tuttosport when asked if Dybala was one step away from moving to the Premier League giants.
‘Romelu, however, had always hoped to go to Inter because he was impressed by the affection of the Inter fans.’
United subsequently made a move to sign Erling Haaland from Red Bull Leipzig in January and remain keen on the 19-year-old striking sensation, but had to settle for signing Odion Ighalo on loan in January following Marcus Rashford’s back injury.
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