Matteo Darmian’s honeymoon period at Manchester United might be over as soon as the January transfer window opens. The Italian international’s influence at the Old Trafford has gradually diminished as he is far from the first choice under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho.
Darmian arrived when Louis van Gaal was in charge and was the preferred choice as he started 24 matches in the Premier League pushing Antonio Valencia to the second slot.
But since the Dutch manager departed, his role has been more of a bit part player as both Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia are ahead of him in the pecking order.
Darmian did impress in the closing patches of the last season as he was told to fill in the boots of Luke Shaw in the left back position and he did it with great ease. He also went on to start in the Europa League final as United created history by getting their hands on the Europa League trophy for the first time in the club history.
But Darmian has failed to impress this season and has had very limited game time which shouldn’t have happened for a player of his experience. His current situation hasn’t gone unnoticed and a number of clubs are ready to offer him an escape route.
Italian clubs are very willing to take him back to Italy as Juventus, Napoli and AS Roma are very interested in the player. Roma are one of the clubs who hold a serious interest in the player and according to reports they even might approach United in January for a loan deal.
Darmian looked out of pace at times and it was sparingly his fault as United conceded a late goal against FC Basel in the Champions League group stage earlier last week. Darmian does offer decent width going forward but he needs to put an equally efficient shift defensively.
He often gets exposed when marking players and needs to work on his quality a bit more to sharpen his skills. He could be a very viable option and also, he is considerably well experienced on the international stage which could go well in his favour.
United are all set to start a very hectic schedule in December and Mourinho will need service of the 27-year-old, who can be very effective on both the flanks.
So the Portuguese gaffer needs to keep him at the club at least until the end of this season. But do you think he should be sold if the right offer comes?
