Matteo Darmian is reportedly on the radar of Juventus, Napoli and AS Roma, who are eyeing a January move for the Manchester United defender
According to a report in The Sun, Matteo Darmian is the subject of interest from Juventus, Napoli and AS Roma, who are plotting a January move for him. The Italian defender is struggling for minutes at Manchester United under Jose Mourinho, and could be open to a return to the Serie A.
Darmian joined Manchester United in the summer of 2015 after four fruitful seasons at Torino. Having come to Old Trafford with a burgeoning reputation of being one of the best defenders in Serie A, the player did make an initial impression before his form petered out.
Under Jose Mourinho, Darmian has struggled to hold down a regular place in the first-team setup, with Antonio Valencia becoming the first-choice right-back. While he has been deployed as a left-back as well, the Italy international has had to share game time with the likes of Daley Blind, Ashley Young, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw.
But, the 27-year-old has usually given a good account of himself, and is a useful player in Mourinho’s squad. Despite not being a regular at club level, though, he has managed to remain a key player for Italy, and is now on the radar of three of the biggest clubs back home – Juventus, Napoli and AS Roma.
Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian is wanted back in Italy, with Juventus, Napoli and Roma all interested. (TMW) pic.twitter.com/v6B68yDwDt
— RumorsTransfers 24/7 (@rumorstransfers) November 13, 2017
Juventus have, in fact, been long-time admirers of Darmian’s talents, having attempted to sign him in the summer as well. The Bianconeri are set to make another move for him in January, with right-back a problem area for Massimiliano Allegri due to Mattia De Sciglio and Stephan Lichsteiner blowing hot and cold.
Like Juve, AS Roma, too, tried signing Darmian in the summer, albeit unsuccessfully so, but have now reignited their interest in him. The continued interest in the player does come as a bit of a surprise though, with the Giallorossi having enough cover on either side of defence.
One club that is desperately in need of a full-back heading into the winter transfer window are Napoli. The current Serie A leaders have lost the services of Faouzi Ghoulam till the end of the season, and are in need to bolster the left side of defence. Darmian has, thus, emerged as a viable target for the club.
Darmian might welcome a move back to Italy, considering he is used so sparingly by Jose Mourinho. Manchester United, though, could be unwilling to let go of the player unless they are able to land a replacement on time.
The report, meanwhile, suggests that Juventus are currently leading the race to sign Darmian, meaning their two rivals will need to step up their pursuit to land him in January, and it remains to be seen where he heads off to when the transfer window opens.
