La Liga giants Valencia are reportedly eyeing a £9 million swoop for out of favour Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian in the summer transfer window.
Manchester United could finally be set to offload Italian international Matteo Darmian this summer, with the right-back emerging as a transfer target for La Liga club Valencia. A report from Sky Italia, as carried by The Sun, claims that the 29-year-old is wanted by Los Che in a £9 million deal, with the club already meeting his agent in Italy to set up the transfer.
Darmian has been with Manchester United since the summer of 2015, having arrived from Serie A side Torino. Having been a first-team regular in his first couple of years, the Italian has found himself on the fringes in the last two seasons, with the likes of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia preferred over him at right-back.
The 2018-19 campaign saw Darmian make just 7 appearances across all competitions for Manchester United, with the arrival of Diogo Dalot last summer pushing him further down the pecking order. While Antonio Valencia is set to leave the club when his contract runs out, the Red Devils are intent on signing PSG right-back Thomas Meunier, meaning Darmian’s situation is unlikely to improve.
With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer planning a major squad overhaul heading into the next season, someone like Darmian, who does not feature in the manager’s plans, is very much likely to be offloaded, more so considering that he is entering the final year of his contract with the club.
The 29-year-old had been linked with a return to Italy, with the likes of Inter Milan and AS Roma believed to be interested. However, as per the report, it is La Liga giants Valencia who have taken a strong interest in signing Darmian in the summer transfer window.
Valencia have just Cristiano Piccini as the recognized right-back in their squad and had to utilize versatile midfielder Daniel Wass in the role prominently last season. While the 30-year-old performed ably, Los Che are keen on bringing in another specialist in the position and have identified Darmian as a viable candidate.
To that end, Valencia have already approached Darmian’s agent in order to explore the possibility of a summer transfer. The club’s technical director Pablo Longoria is believed to have met the 29-year-old’s representatives in Milan earlier this week to negotiate the deal.
Darmian is likely to cost Valencia somewhere around £9 million. With Manchester United interested in a sale and the player too keen on securing regular first-team football, a summer switch is very much on the cards. It remains to be seen if it is Valencia where the Italian ends up next season.
