Krishnan Sreekumar
Transfer News: Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot wanted by Fiorentina in the summer
According to Italian outlet Firenzeviola (h/t The Sun), Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has been eyed by Fiorentina in the summer, with the Serie A club looking for a loan move with an option to buy the player.
The right-back is currently spending the international break with the Portugal national team, helping them in their quest for a place in the World Cup in Qatar later this year. His club and country teammate Bruno Fernandes made sure of that yesterday, scoring a brace against North Macedonia in the crucial tie.
Although he did not feature in the game last night that sealed their qualification, he played the full ninety minutes in their previous win against Turkey last week. He will now return to Manchester to help United in their quest to finish in fourth place in the Premier League table.
The Red Devils currently sit in sixth place, and are in danger of missing out on a top-four finish this season. They are behind Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur on points at the moment, and with the Gunners having a game in hand, the club look in serious trouble to secure UCL football next term.
Return to Italy?
Regardless of United’s outcome in the league this campaign, Dalot may be set for a move abroad to Italy, given Fiorentina’s interest in the defender. The Italian side is eyeing up a loan move with an option to buy for the Portugal international, hoping to bolster their rearguard.
The Serie A team are looking to offer the Manchester club a loan deal for the 23-year-old, which includes a clause of £8m if they wish to make the deal permanent. Thus far, they have not made an official approach for the deal with either the player or the club.
Dalot is quite familiar with Italy, having spent the entirety of the 2020/21 season in Serie A playing for AC Milan on loan when he saw his appearances for the first team at Old Trafford limited as then-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer preferred Aaron Wan-Bissaka over the Portuguese.
Having returned to Manchester for the current campaign, the right-back saw more action for the club under interim manager Ralf Rangnick than under his Norwegian predecessor, with Dalot making a successive run of appearances between December and February.
However, his form during that period was not good enough to convince his new German boss that he was undroppable from the lineup, and since then, the player has managed just one league appearance in four games.
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With game time being limited once again at United, perhaps Dalot may be tempted to take up the offer from Fiorentina. After all, he was impressive for Milan last year and has experience playing in the league. Only time will tell if the Portuguese star decides to move to Serie A once again on loan, or he fights until the summer to make the right-back position his own after he returns to the club from the international break.
A club like the United, after all, needs strong backup players to make sure they can compete on all fronts. In terms of our squad depth, this wouldn’t really be the smartest move given we don’t have a good backup for Aaron Wan-Bissaka apart from Dalot. But perhaps Brandon Williams, who is set to return from his loan spell at Norwich City in the summer, can prove his worth in defence once again.
