Manchester United and Juventus have been in talks for a swap deal that could see Romelu Lukaku exit Old Trafford, while Argentine international Paulo Dybala will move in the other direction. Juventus are keen on signing Lukaku but can only do so with a player going the other way from the Italian club. Now, reports have suggested that Mario Mandzukic could be a backup option if Dybala doesn’t agree on terms with United.
Sky Sports have reported that Juve cannot complete the deal to bring Lukaku if they don’t part with one of their players, possibly due to FFP regulations. Mandzukic may not be afforded much game time if the Lukaku deal goes through as Juventus also have Gonzalo Higuain in their ranks (though unlikely for long) and Paulo Dybala as of now, while Cristiano Ronaldo is another option for Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri upfront.
The Croatian international has been at the Italian club since 2015, having joined from Atletico Madrid. The former Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg forward has scored 44 goals in 162 appearances for Juventus.
A good option for Manchester United?
The experienced Croatian forward is a hard-working striker who contributes in attack and defence, and is very good in the air as well as holding up the ball. The 6’3″ striker is not the most prolific in front of goal, but contributes in other areas of the pitch and is a player that most managers will love to have in their squad.
But, United do not need another striker, that too a striker who is at the end of his career and is probably past his peak. The last experienced striker that United signed was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but the Swedish star was still at his peak and had scored 50 goals for Paris Saint-Germain the season before he joined United. Mandzukic, in contrast, scored 10 goals last season in 33 games for Juventus.
Manchester United already have two talented, young strikers in Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who have both been good in pre-season. Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed in pre-season that teenage striker Mason Greenwood will get more opportunities in the 2019-20 season, which means that he has three players for one position, which is more than adequate.
Mandzukic is a good player but Manchester United do not need him at the moment.
