Why Manchester United must offload Matteo Darmian this summer

Manchester United full-back Matteo Darmian will most probably be on his way out of the club this summer. With Serie A giants Juventus interested, the Italian will be tempted to move to his native country. The 28-year-old, who currently earns wages in the region of £60,000-a-week, has received limited game time under Jose Mourinho so far.

Darmian arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2015 when Louis Van Gaal was in charge. Although he performed satisfactorily in his first season, there were certain aspects he had to improve.

However, the 28-year-old couldn’t settle in with Mourinho’s system from 2016 onwards. He has just made 26 appearances in the Premier League over the past two seasons and that is quite a low number for an Italian international with 36 caps. So, switching to a club where he can play often would be a sensible move.

United should sell Darmian

Upon the arrival of Diogo Dalot from Porto, there is an increased certainty that Darmian will be surplus to requirement. Despite the fact that the latter can provide the flexible option of playing on either wing, it doesn’t make sense for United to hold onto someone who can’t fit Mourinho’s style of play.

Hence, it would be ideal to sell Darmian and increase their budget for the summer. They must continue to improve their squad in other areas, meaning they will need a significant amount of funds.

As far as Darmian is concerned, he must prioritize an exit to secure regular game time. He is only 28 years of age and has at least 5-6 years of top-level football left in him.

Conclusion

It is a classic case of both parties agreeing to a mutual deal. United must sell the player to free up a wage bill and raise funds whereas Darmian must move to a club where he can clock regular minutes on the field. With Juventus having offloaded Stephan Lichtsteiner, they need to procure someone who can fill that right-back/wing-back slot and the 28-year-old Italian would be a solid fit.