Matteo Darmian reportedly looks set to leave Old Trafford following Jose Mourinho’s comments, with Juventus and Napoli among the interested parties.
According to The Daily Mail, the Portuguese boss will not stand in Darmian’s way after the 29-year-old expressed a desire to leave the club in search of regular first-team football.
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The Italian right-back joined Manchester United in 2015 from Torino in Serie A and has made just 54 appearances for The Red Devils over the last three seasons. He could now be in line for a return to Italy with Juve and Napoli suggested as destinations in the report but the United manager has stated that a satisfactory offer for the 28-year-old has yet to be received.
“Matteo wants to leave, and I think when a player wants to leave if the right offer arrives you have to try to be human and let the player follow his instinct,” said Mourinho, as per the Mail.
“But not at any price and until now the offers we got for Matteo are not even close to being accepted.”
The Mail also states that the club faces a selection crisis at right-back following club captain Antonio Valencia’s calf injury which has ruled him out of the rest of United’s pre-season. New signing Diogo Dalot is also unavailable until September, meaning Darmian’s departure could leave the team desperately short at the back.
“Valencia is injured and he will be injured for the beginning of the Premier League. Diogo Dalot is also in the recovering phase, he will not be ready for the beginning of the Premier League.” Mourinho added, before suggesting Ashley Young could be recalled early.
“Ashley Young is a possibility to play right back but he is on holiday. I don’t know if he fancies to be back for that and put himself to be available for the team or stay on holiday.”
Young has been granted extended leave after his World Cup exploits in Russia with England this summer, and so it’s questionable as to whether it’s a sensible idea to rush him back without a decent rest.