While the Paulo Dybala situation is making all of the headlines in Italy these days, there are other areas of the pitch Manchester United need to bolster.
The centre of their defence is one of them, even more so now after it was announced Eric Bailly will be out for the next 4-5 months after injuring himself in pre-season.
Harry Maguire remains their top target, and there’s a belief amid the English press a deal could get done at around £80m, but if it can’t, they need alternatives.
We’ve already covered a number of stories involving different players (Samuel Umtiti among them), but these talks with Juventus for Dybala have got certain members of the Italian press thinking.
With five centre-backs at his disposal, could Maurizio Sarri’s preference to play a back four force one of them towards an exit?
case, one of Merih Demiral, Leonardo Bonucci and Daniele Rugani would be the likely sacrifice.
The latter of the trio was recently approached by Arsenal, who reportedly put a two-year loan on the table for his services, and the Italian newspaper hint that Bailly’s injury could push Manchester United to turn their attention to the 25-year-old.
It’s not the worst idea in the world, since the channels with Juventus are already open over at Old Trafford, and while Rugani wouldn’t be included in any kind of swap deal (although, Darmian?), a separate transfer could be organised.
We aren’t anywhere near that stage just yet, but with just a week left in the Premier League transfer window, the amount of stories popping up like this one is likely to increase considerably over the weekend.
