Manchester United defender reportedly set to join Juventus

What's the rumour?

Manchester United are all set to offload right back, Matteo Darmian. The Italian has only one year left on his contract which is due to expire in 2019. The Red Devils value the defender at £9 million and as per the claims of Daily Star, Juventus look to be the favourites to land the 28-year-old.

In case you didn't know...

Darmian rose to prominence in the 2013/14 season with his former club Torino, appearing in 37 Serie A matches and making the final cut to the Italy national team for the World Cup. He followed it with another impressive campaign which caught the eye of Manchester United a year later.

In 2015, former manager, Louis Van Gaal signed the Italian for a fee of £12.7 million. He was a prominent feature in the Dutchman's starting 11 and had a successful debut season in Manchester, making 36 appearances in all competitions.

The heart of the matter

But after the arrival of Jose Mourinho in 2016, the Italian had a reduced role in the Manchester United squad. He was relegated to the bench in favour of Antonio Valencia. Darmian only managed to play a total of just 1,332 minutes in the Premier League last season.

Darmian has fallen out of favour under Mourinho

However, in this season, it has been difficult for Darmian to even find a place on the bench. He has appeared in only 15 games in all competitions, accumulating a total time of only 398 minutes on the pitch. In the limited game time he has received, he averages a decent 2 tackles and clearances per game.

Rumour probability/rating: 8/10

It is more than certain that the Darmian's future is away from Old Trafford. His way of out of England has been linked with a potential return to Turin with Juventus but AS Roma and Napoli are also potential suitors. Juve boss Max Allegri has targeted the fullback as a replacement for veteran right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner.

The Italian was on the verge of departing Manchester in the January transfer window but the transfer couldn't take place since Mourinho was unable to find a replacement for him.

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Author's take

Matteo Darmian will look to start afresh after his stint in England. He needs to get back to playing regular first team football so as to rebuild his career as he will also have one eye on making a comeback to the Italian national team in the future.

With a return to Italy in the summer, he will have the opportunity to redeem his career. The clubs linked with him need cover and reinforcements in the fullback position. He has the experience of playing big games and could find his way straight into the starting lineup of any club.

He provides versatility since he can play at left back which will be welcomed by his future club.