Pep Guardiola has already made feelings clear as Man United swap deal opportunity emerges

A daring swap deal that would see Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee move to Juventus and Douglas Luiz head to Old Trafford has emerged - and it would likely pain Pep Guardiola.

Luiz, 26, has had a challenging season since he left Aston Villa for the Italian giants last summer. According to reports in Italy, Juventus are willing to use Luiz in an audacious swap deal to convince United to send them Zirkzee in the other direction.

Zirkzee was booed off before half-time by United fans during the recent 2-0 home loss to Newcastle United, but his reputation in Italy is still strong. While there are many moving parts to a potential deal, Luiz linking up with Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford could prove difficult to take for Guardiola, given the City manager's glowing assessment of the midfielder in 2019.

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If not for a work permit issue, Luiz could currently be playing a central role in City's midfield. In the summer of 2017, when he was just 20, City signed the Brazilian from Vasco da Gama and then immediately loaned him to Girona to gain some first team experience.

However, upon his return, he did not automatically qualify for a work permit, meaning City had to apply for an exemption. Because Luiz had only one start during his initial loan spell at Girona, the FA Exceptions Panel did not think he had done enough to earn one and refused to endorse City's appeal for an exemption.

Luiz would be sent on another loan spell to Girona, where his performances caught the eye of Villa, who then signed him for £15m the following summer. In 2019, Guardiola said: