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Antonio Conte gives Romelu Lukaku transfer update as Man Utd and Juventus deal breaks down
ANTONIO CONTE has confirmed Inter Milan are still in the hunt for Romelu Lukaku as the Manchester United striker’s proposed swap deal to Juventus reportedly broke down on Sunday night.
Romelu Lukaku: Inter ‘sceptical’ of Juventus interest says expert
Conte made Lukaku his No 1 transfer target after joining Inter in the summer but the club are struggling to raise funds for the deal.
United want to recoup the £75million they paid Everton for Lukaku in 2017.
Inter had a £54m bid for Lukaku rejected in July and are trying to offload controversial striker Mauro Icardi to enlarge their warchest.
I understand there are some gaps that need to be filled, but at the moment I am very hopeful that this will happen.
Widespread reports on Sunday evening claimed United had ended their interest, though, due to doubts over the player’s desire to move to Old Trafford, as well as wage demands and agent fees.
Hours before the news broke, Conte had spoken to the media about the latest on his club’s pursuit of Lukaku.
“We continue to work on it in the best possible way,” Conte said when asked about the Belgian international.
“I understand there are some gaps that need to be filled, but at the moment I am very hopeful that this will happen.
“At the same time, I’m working with a great group of players that gives me lots of satisfaction.”
Conte was probed on whether he knows anything of Juventus’ interest in the player but said: “Honestly I can’t know, I don’t know.
“I’m reading about this swap in the papers. For sure Lukaku, we are talking about a good player, a striker that in the past I tried to buy when I was Chelsea’s coach.
“We’re talking about two big clubs, Juventus and Inter Milan, but honestly, I don’t know.”
The former Old Lady boss is just focussing on the San Siro club’s pursuit of Lukaku for the time being.
He added: “Everyone said it was done for Lukaku to Inter two weeks ago, now they say it’s done with Juventus.
“The fact is, if you don’t have the agreements between player and club, nothing will be done. So let’s see what happens.”
The Serie A transfer window closes on August 23 - two weeks after English clubs’ deadline to sign new players.