Man United had swap deal offer for Juventus star rejected in 2021 | OneFootball

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final transfer window in charge of Manchester United felt like a big one and when he signed Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo, there was a real sense of optimism at Old Trafford.

That feeling multiplied tenfold after United started that season in stellar form but the general consensus was that the Reds were still missing a body or two in midfield.

United did not sign a midfielder that summer but according to new revelations, the Old Trafford club did carry out attempts to strengthen that area of the pitch.

Juventus are enduring turbulent times at the moment and last month, it emerged that the club’s entire board would be resigning and the Turin giants are now under investigation by UEFA over an alleged breach of financial fair play.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Marco Guidi, records from that investigation show that Juventus rejected an offer from United in August 2021.

As per the report, the Reds proposed that Donny van de Beek, who had barely featured in his first season at the club, would join Juventus and USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie would go the other way.

As we all now know, that deal never materialised and Van de Beek’s struggles at United continued. McKennie has also struggled for Juventus since then.

SN’s verdict… The lack of investment in midfield has certainly cost United over the last five or six years and although McKennie would have strengthened the side at the time, the signings made by Erik ten Hag this summer are far superior.

Casemiro oozes class and has immediately improved United, whilst Christian Eriksen on a free transfer is some of the best business United have done.

It will be interesting to see what else comes out of this investigation, with Ronaldo’s return to United in 2021 falling into the same time period.