Juventus could decide to replace midfielder Weston McKennie in the swap deal for Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz according to reports.
Villa and Juventus are close to agreeing a deal which would see Luiz head to the Italian giants with McKennie, Samuel Iling-Junior and around €20m heading the other way.
The deal has been progressing slowly, as would be expected with so many parties involved, but it’s believed it’s not far from completion.
Juventus could replace McKennie in swap deal
Illing-Junior is believed to have agreed terms with Villa, who will play Champions League football next season, but it’s been reported McKennie is the reason the deal is being held up.
Journalist Luca Marchetti has provided an update on the swap deal and suggested Juventus could choose to replace the American with another player.
“The obstacle to overcome to date is represented by the requests from McKennie’s entourage,” he told Bianconera News.
“So, either an agreement is reached, or the American will have to be replaced by someone else, but the second hypothesis seems more unlikely to me.
“It is normal for there to be some hiccups in a negotiation that involves so many parties, also because all the players are involved, they want to make their importance count in the exchange and therefore try to maximise their income.”
The United States international is reportedly making demands over a pay-off with his contract set to expire next summer which has been holding up proceedings.
Villa have agreed a deal to sign Ross Barkley from relegated Luton town, and have expressed an interest in Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, with Unai Emery clearly keen to strengthen his options in the middle of the park as his side prepare to embark on a Champions League campaign next season.