New Manchester United Jose Mourinho reportedly intends to begin his summer squad clean-up at Old Trafford by selling versatile Italy fullback Matteo Darmian.
Following the appointment of Jose Mourinho, there has been plenty of speculation regarding the new Manchester United manager’s squad restructuring plans. According to a report in the Mail Online, the Portuguese is keen on letting Matteo Darmian go, with Italian champions Juventus said to be interested in the fullback.
The 26-year-old Italian, who arrived from Torino only last season for a £14m deal, is known to be interested in returning to his home country. Darmian is also a part of Antonio Conte’s 23-man Italy squad for Euro 2016. The Manchester United fullback is a key feature of the Italian team as he has appeared for them 22 times since being handed his debut in 2014.
Darmian, like many of the Italians who’ve transferred to the Premier League, has found it hard to adapt to life in the English league in his first season. He has constantly battled with injury concerns that have kept him out of the team. The Italian featured for Manchester United 39 times in all competitions last season.
Adding to his consistency woes, Darmian was also believed to be struggling to adapt and work under the philosophy of Louis van Gaal, which is possession-centric and requires players who are very confident on the ball. Darmian was found out of position and losing the ball many times in key games last campaign, which might have convinced the new Manchester United manager to seek other options.
Darmian is good enough to improve an already impressive Juventus squad
Born, raised, and nurtured in Italy, Darmian would be a natural fit at Juventus. The Turin-based club, who already have a very strong squad, are always on the lookout for players to bolster their squad as they aim to win an unprecedented 6th straight league title in 2016-17.
Manchester United have already moved towards looking for new defensive reinforcements, with 22-year-old Ivorian Eric Bailly recently signing from Villareal. The youngster is a centre-back, but is also capable of playing at left-back — a position Darmian occupied several times for the Red Devils last season. It remains to be seen what approach Juventus and Massimiliano Allegri will have if United actively look for buyers for the Italian.
