Matteo Darmian has become something of a forgotten man at Old Trafford. The Italian was signed by former boss Louis van Gaal and he was a first-team regular in his first couple of months at United. Towards the end of the season, though, he found it increasingly difficult to feature for the team. At just 26 years of age, he would have been hoping to see a reversal in fortunes when Jose Mourinho took over in the summer. The Portuguese, though, has not yet trusted Darmian with league duties. The player’s only appearance this season came in the Europa League loss against Feyenoord.
A player would reasonably be confident about securing a regular first-team spot if he features in the starting line-up now and then. For someone in Darmian’s position, it is quite clear that the manager does not believe in him and the only solution may be seeking a move away. It is highly likely that he will leave the club either in January or in the upcoming summer transfer window. The player’s agent, though, says that Darmian had the opportunity to move in the summer, but Manchester United prevented such an opportunity.
Darmian was initially able to feature ahead of Antonio Valencia or Phil Jones in the right back spot under Van Gaal. However, the return of Valencia coupled with the availability of talented youngsters like Timothy Fosu-Mensah meant that Darmian was starved of first-team opportunities towards the end of last season. Darmian has to shoulder some of the blame, as he produced a string of poor displays that led to the manager dropping him in the first place.
One of the biggest concerns in Darmian’s camp is the risk of the player losing his status as the first team regular with Italy. Since making his debut in 2014, Darmian has featured in 26 games largely under the regime of Antonio Conte. Now that Italy have undergone a managerial change, it is highly likely that new boss Giampiero Ventura may want to consider someone who is playing regularly. Darmian’s agent Fausto Pari admitted that the national team place was of high concern for the player. He said:
“If the situation doesn’t change by January, we’ll have to think of something. He risks also losing his place in the national team.
“We’ve got to see what United want to do. Italian clubs have tried, but United closed the door immediately. We’re only at the start of October so there is still time and we will see how the situation evolves.
“Napoli have [Ivan] Strinic in that position, though. I don’t want to do [Napoli sporting director Cristiano] Giuntoli’s work for him, though, and it will be up to them to decide whether they want to make a move for Darmian.”
The only hope for the 26-year-old over the next two months will be the possibility to feature in cup competitions like the EFL Cup and the Europa League. Manchester United are likely to focus less on these competitions with their primary objective being the Premier League.
For the moment, though, Darmian has been included in the Italy squad. After being an unused substitute in the World Cup qualifier against Spain, Darmian once again failed to make it to the starting line-up for the second game against Macedonia.
