Manchester United Transfer News: Conflicting Douglas Costa Rumours Emerge

Multiple reports involving Juventus star Douglas Costa and Manchester United have emerged in the Italian and British press, with some rumours suggesting the Red Devils are willing to offer up to €85 million (roughly £75 million) for the Brazilian.

Sport Witness broke down the speculation, starting with rumours involving rivals Manchester City from Calciomercato. Corriere dello Sport ran with the United story, putting it on their front page and running a spread as well.

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Per Sport Witness, the original report came from The Sun's Alvise Cagnazzo, who went so far as to suggest Juventus could opt not to use a clause to make Costa's loan move permanent, and the Red Devils would instead approach Bayern Munich to make the deal.

However, Bayern executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed in November that the deal would be made permanent.

Costa moved to Serie A last summer in a deal worth €46 million in total. After the initial loan, Juventus hold a €40 million option to sign him outright.

The 27-year-old needed some time to settle in at Juventus―Massimiliano Allegri is notorious for introducing new players into his squad slowly―but by the end of the season he was arguably the team's most pivotal player and the main creative outlet in attack.

Costa is widely popular among the fans and has featured regularly in Juventus' social media posts, another indication he's not about to return to Munich:

While a return to the Bundesliga seems out of the question, there's always the possibility Juventus could flip Costa for a profit, using their clause and selling again at a higher cost.

It's not likely given his popularity and importance to the team, but for the right price, the Bianconeri could opt to look elsewhere. There have also been frequent links with United's Anthony Martial, per Calciomercato.com's Kaustubh Pandey, and he could be used as a makeshift in a deal.

Costa won't come cheap if he does leave Juventus, and in all likelihood he'll still be in the black and white by the end of the summer.