Juventus have reportedly considered an audacious swap deal that could see Douglas Luiz move to Manchester United in return for Joshua Zirkzee.
Luiz only moved to Turin over the summer, signing from Aston Villa, who had to sell to ensure they stayed in line regarding Profit and Sustainability Rule constraints.
Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea both moved to Villa Park as part of the deal, but have both gone back out on loan, with Amadou Onana the man who has come in to replace Luiz at the club.
Zirkzee is also a recent recruit, having only joined Man United from Bologna in the summer in a deal worth roughly £36.5m.
A deal to suit both parties?
© Imago
Since their respective moves, neither Luiz nor Zirkzee have made much of an impression at their new clubs.
Luiz has started just twice for the Old Lady this season, and his performance in the 3-2 win at RB Leipzig was remembered for all the wrong reasons; coming off the bench and conceding a penalty within two minutes.
While the Brazilian has suffered with injury of late, he is a long way down the pecking order in Juve's midfield, behind Teun Koopmeiners, Manuel Locatelli, Weston McKennie, Khephren Thuram and Nicolo Fagoili.
Ahead of their trip to Luiz's former club on Wednesday, the 26-year-old remains an injury doubt on his potential return to England, but he could find himself back in the country very soon.
Motta seeking to reunite with Zirkzee?
© Imago
Gazzetta della Sport claim that Juve are exploring the possibility of signing Zirkzee in January, and using Luiz as a makeweight in the deal.
Due to injuries, Juventus are light in attack and at the back, so can afford to offload a midfield option in order to strengthen in those positions for the second half of the season.
Manager Thiago Motta knows Zirkzee well, because he was the man up front for his Bologna team that broke into the Champions League against the odds last season, finishing fifth.
However, since earning a move to Old Trafford on the back of those performances, Zirkzee has not settled as he would have liked with his new employers.
The 23-year-old found himself on the bench in Ruben Amorim's first game in charge at Ipswich Town on Sunday, and has not started in the league since the 3-0 thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur at the end of September.
Zirkzee has been unable to add to his Man United account since scoring the winner over Fulham on the opening day, and with game time not set to increase under the manager, his time at the club may also be drawing to a premature end.
Andrew Delaney
