Manchester United were inches away from signing Paulo Dybala from Juventus last summer window, according to Romelu Lukaku’s agent.
The deal came as Lukaku was deemed surplus to requirements at the theatre of dreams and was told he would be sold during the last summer window.
The Belgian eventually went to Inter for a fee of £73.7m, but this was before the Red devils enquired about a swap deal involving Dybala at Juve, who was reportedly unsettled.
The appointment of Maurizio Sarri as manager, the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo and return of Higuain from Chelsea meant Dybala saw his place in the starting XI under serious threat.
The 26-year-old attacker, however, was hoping for an £8.7m-a-year deal with Manchester United, an increase of the £6.5m he was paid at Juventus.
When asked if United were close to signing the Serie A star, Pastorello told Tuttosport : “It’s true.”
He continued: “Romelu, however, had always hoped to go to Inter because he was impressed by the affection of the Inter fans.”
Dybala eventually chose to remain with Juventus, the club he’s played for since making his £28m move from Palermo in 2015.
Recently the Argentina international tested positive for coronavirus, despite reporting that he was healthy but omly self-isolating.
“A lot of people die here every day, things are very bad,” he said. “You can’t handle cases anymore, that’s why many countries have sent their doctors.
“It’s not a lie, you have to be careful. People have to stay at home.”
He added: “I had a bad cough, I felt tired and when I slept, I felt cold. At first, I didn’t think about what it could be but it had happened to two other teammates and the last one was me.
“It’s psychological. You were scared at first, but it’s okay now. These days we haven’t had any symptoms.”
