Manchester United full-back Matteo Darmian is reportedly set to seal a return to Serie A in January with a loan move to Inter being lined up.
The 26-year-old arrived at Old Trafford from Torino last summer, but after enjoying an impressive start to life in Manchester, he has slowly lost his way and fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
Darmian has made just one appearance under Jose Mourinho so far this season, which came in the Europa League defeat to Feyenoord last month, with Antonio Valencia and Timothy Fosu-Mensah ahead of him in the Portuguese tactician’s plans.
As noted by The Daily Mail, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported on their front page on Saturday that Darmian could be heading for Inter, with an initial loan deal on the table for a fee and a view to make it permanent at the end of the season.
Joining the Nerazzurri could give the Italian international more opportunities for playing time, and so he may well welcome the chance to return to his homeland and to work with Frank De Boer’s side.
Darmian was a key cog in Antonio Conte’s plans leading up to and during Euro 2016, and with the World Cup 2018 qualifiers underway, the versatile defender will want to make a strong case to current Azzurri boss Giampiero Ventura to keep his place in the squad.
It’s a disappointing decline for Darmian though, as mentioned above he made an impressive start to his United career and looked set to play an integral role in Louis van Gaal side’s success.
However, a combination of injuries and lack of form coupled with the arrival of Mourinho appears to have pushed him to the brink of an early exit from the club, even though he still has three years remaining on his current contract.