Romelu Lukaku could he handed a Manchester United escape route – if Mauro Icardi leaves Inter Milan.
Striker Lukaku has seen his game time at Old Trafford shrink after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as caretaker boss from Jose Mourinho.Norwegian Solskjaer has preferred to lead the line with Marcus Rashford rather than Lukaku – the Belgian starting just two games under the stand-in manager.
The lack of minutes could force Lukaku towards the United exit, two years after he joined for £75million from Everton .
According to TuttoMercarto, Lukaku would be available for around £80m with would be funded by Icardi’s exit.
Lukaku’s potential transfer to the San Siro is likely to depend on how Inter’s relationship with star front man Icardi develops throughout the rest of the season. Icardi has a £96.8m release clause in his Inter contract, with Chelsea and Real Madrid among a list of potential suitors.
Argentina international Icardi was striped of the Inter captaincy earlier this week, with keeper Samir Handanovic taking over the armband.
The decision led to Icardi refusing to play in the Italian’s Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna.
Luciano Spalletti’s men won 1-0 in Austria, thanks to Lautaro Martinez’s penalty, but the rift between Icardi and Inter could spark the striker to leave.
Spalletti is still hoping Icardi, whose current deal runs out in 2021, will sign a new contract in Milan, and said last Sunday: ”Mauro is evidently seeing his performance affected by some situations that have been going on recently.
“He needs to free himself from the talk that is around him.
“The directors agreed to start talking about the contract, so now they need to go there and conclude it.”