Manchester United transfer news: Romelu Lukaku could leave for Inter Milan in swap deal

The Italian club are planning a huge summer and hope to install Antonio Conte as new manager, with the former Chelsea boss having named Lukaku as a key signing

Manchester United would prefer long-term defensive target Milan Skriniar, if any kind of swap deal with Internazionale is to be done on Romelu Lukaku.

The Italian club are planning a huge summer and hope to install Antonio Conte as new manager, with the former Chelsea boss having named Lukaku as a key signing.

Inter would be willing to offer £30m and Ivan Perisic to United for the Belgian, but Perisic was really a Jose Mourinho target, so the Old Trafford hierarchy would instead prefer Skriniar - who has similarly interested them in the past - despite the Slovakian only recently having renewed his contract.

United do want to finally bring in a new centre-half this summer, and neither they nor champions Manchester City have yet completely ruled out the possibility of signing Ajax's Matthijs De Ligt.

The teenage Dutch defender wants to go to Barcelona, but that deal is not yet concluded, and United are willing to offer huge money to tempt him. It is understood his entourage are at least seeing what else is out there.

That could be one of a few deals where Barcelona influence United's summer.

If the Catalans do not choose to pursue Antoine Griezmann, that will leave the way open for United to come in for the Atletico Madrid star, with the 28-year-old already having announced his attention to leave.

Ivan Rakitic is similarly one of a few players Barcelona want to offload to make space for an overhaul, but sources that is already creating what has become a common problem for the Catalans: very few players want to leave, both for lifestyle and financial reasons. It would probably require huge money to make it happen.

Rakitic's entourage have been approaching European clubs, and a prospective signing would at least solve another problem area for United.

The Old Trafford hierarchy may not be willing to pay quite so much for a 31-year-old, however.