Manchester United full-back Mateo Darmian could leave the club before the European transfer window slams shut on Monday.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Chris Smalling has been touted for a season-long loan switch to Roma, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues a summer clearout.
Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia left the club upon the expiration of their contracts in June, while Romelu Lukaku was sold to Inter Milan at the start of August.
BBC Sport reports that Alexis Sanchez is on the verge of joining Lukaku at Inter, with him and Smalling expected to complete moves away over the weekend.
As per MEN, out of favour United star Darmian is set to follow his team-mates to Italy, with an unnamed Serie A club believed to be close to negotiating a deal.
If the 29-year-old and Smalling do indeed end up leaving the club, Solskjaer’s defensive options will be significantly reduced, but he does still have the likes of Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe, Ashley Young, Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly to call upon in back up roles.
United will likely stick with a back four of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw wherever possible, with Darmian and Smalling unlikely to be missed as the 2019-20 campaign progresses.
Darmian has never quite been able to establish himself as a regular for the Red Devils, despite looking relatively solid when called upon.
The Italian right-back was restricted to just six Premier League appearances last term and it may be in his best interests to push for a move in order to start playing regularly once again.
Before moving to Manchester in 2015, Darmian had spent his entire career in his homeland and he will surely be a great acquisition for any Serie A club looking to add greater depth to their ranks.
