Juventus are exploring the possibility of a swap deal with Manchester United which would see an exchange of disappointing summer signings.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Juventus may look to offload €50 million (£41.5m/$52m) signing Douglas Luiz, who has struggled to settle in Serie A since his switch from Aston Villa, in exchange for United's Joshua Zirkzee. With the Old Lady strapped for cash and in need of attacking improvements, a potential player swap may be discussed with United who are in need of a midfield revamp. Calciomercato report that Juventus may offer Luiz and Danilo in exchange for the Dutch striker, who impressed for Bologna in Italy last season.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
It is unlikely that a deal will materialise given the players have only just joined their respective sides. Exchange deals are complicated and a surprising rarity in football which only puts a potential swap in more doubt. Zirkzee also has a chance to kickstart his career in Manchester under new boss Ruben Amorim, either down the middle as the main striker or as one of the inside forwards just behind the number nine in the Portuguese coach's 3-4-3 system. Luiz also moved to Juventus with girlfriend Alisha Lehmann, who plays for Juventus Women after completing her own transfer to Italy from Villa in the summer, and it is unclear whether he would want to leave Italy and her to go back to England.
DID YOU KNOW?
Luiz has played just nine times for Juventus since moving to Turin. He has appeared in just seven Serie A games from a possible 13 and made just two appearances in the Champions League - accruing just 312 minutes of action this season.
WHAT NEXT FOR JUVENTUS?
Juventus have work to do to close the gap between them and the leading sides in Serie A. The Old Lady sit in sixth but are just four points off first-place Napoli, led by their former coach Antonio Conte, and will hope to bridge the gap by taking all three points against Lecce on Sunday.