Juventus, Inter reportedly duking it out to sign Romelu Lukaku

For the better part of the last couple of weeks, most Romelu Lukaku transfer rumors that involved a Serie A team were centered around Antonio Conte and Inter Milan trying to make a big-time splash on the summer market. Or, at least attempting to do so.

The negotiations haven’t exactly proven to be fruitful for the black and blue side of Milan.

And now there appears to be another wrench being thrown into the proceedings.

A bianconero-colored one.

According to Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio on Friday night, Juventus has entered the fray to try and sign Lukaku, whose status with Manchester United seems anything but a certainty at this point in time. The thing that makes this all the more interesting as Inter prepares another bid for Lukaku upwards of €70 million, according to Di Marzio, is that Juve could very well be open to including another striker who’s reportedly in demand, Paulo Dybala, to try and bring the big Belgian to Turin this summer.

It is a story that the Big 3 of Italian sports newspaper media — Tuttosport, La Gazzetta dello Sport and the Corriere dello Sport — have also run with in one wya or an other.

A duel, you say?

Sounds like I kinda hope Juventus weren’t actually taking part in.

As much as there has been talk about a striker coming in this summer, the talk of Dybala potentially leaving Juventus over the next few weeks has picked up steam again, with both Tottenham and the aforementioned Manchester United two of the bigger names being thrown out there right now. What makes it all the more interesting is that the latest round of rumors about Dybala being sold have pretty much come immediately after first-year Juve manager Maurizio Sarri discussing the Argentine’s role within the starting lineup when he returns from his post-Copa America holiday. And it’s not like Sarri made it sound like Dybala had no place in his team when he spoke of Juve’s No. 10 prior to his team’s friendly against Inter earlier this week.

So if you’re confused about the Dybala praise and then talk of him leaving, I guess we could maybe say the same about where Lukaku would fit in with Sarri Ball.

So maybe it’s just an attempt by the Juventus end of the equation to try and drive up the price that Inter might pay for Lukaku. Or maybe this interest in Lukaku is legitimate — which seems a little odd based on the fact he’s much more suited for the tactics of somebody like Conte rather than Sarri. But, at this point, I really have no idea. How’s that for helping?