There may not be any football to keep us glued to our screens, but transfer speculation will always keep us company - even on these lonely, mind-numbing weekends.
And much like last season, the future of talented Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt is up in the air once more, despite the fact Juventus beat the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United to his signature in the summer.
However, De Ligt has struggled to adapt to the demands of Serie A this season, and without the guidance of the injured Giorgio Chiellini by his side, the starlet has not progressed at the speed which Juventus hoped.
And according to the Evening Standard, Man Utd have been keeping a close eye on the Netherlands international's difficulties in Italy, and they are considering launching another bid for the misfiring centre-back this summer.
But that's not all. The Red Devils are prepared to sweeten the deal by throwing in a player of their own as a makeweight in the deal. And luckily for Juventus, it's not Phil Jones.
Paul Pogba has been strongly linked with a move away from Old Trafford, and it's believed that the Premier League club would be willing to send him back to Turin, if it bolstered their chances of signing De Ligt.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is aiming to find an adequate partner for club captain Harry Maguire at the heart of the defence, and the Norwegian boss still holds De Ligt in very high esteem. And given the improvements made since Bruno Fernandes' arrival and Fred's emergence as a quality midfield option, the reliance on Pogba has waned somewhat.
And with the French star's future drifting further away from Manchester with every passing week, it's likely that he would be open to a return to his former employers in Serie A.
However, there is little indication that Juventus are desperate to offload last summer's big-money signing, and although the young defender did take some time to find his feet, he then began to demonstrate his true capabilities before the season was brought to a premature halt.
With I Bianconeri far from ready to cut their losses on De Ligt, it would appear that Man Utd may be better off looking elsewhere for Maguire's future partner.
Source :
90min
