Why it is time for Matteo Darmian to leave Manchester United

Manchester United’s new right-back, Diogo Dalot, has made a sensational start to his career at Old Trafford. He had a great debut against Young Boys in the Champions League and even against Derby County, he provided the assist for Marouane Fellaini’s last-minute equalizer. But his success doesn’t sound good for everyone in United’s squad as Matteo Darmian has fallen behind in the pecking order.

Darmian, who joined Manchester United for a fee of £12.7million, was one of the six players bought by Louis van Gaal before his second season at the club. But after a bright start, he seemed to struggle against the pace of the Premier League. He started at right-back but after Luke Shaw’s horrific leg break in 2015, he played as the left-back for the majority of the season.

He started 24 games in the Premier League that term and even scored a wonder goal against Crystal Palace. Eventually, Jose Mourinho arrived in 2016 and continued to play him as a left-back over Shaw and Darmian started 30 games in all competitions, including the Europa League final.

But last season was a poor one for the Italian defender. Mourinho started utilizing Ashley Young over Darmian, who just started 5 games in the Premier League. A report from Daily Express earlier in the summer claimed that Darmian had told Mourinho about wanting to leave the club in search of regular football. However, an untimely injury to Antonio Valencia in pre-season forced Mourinho to abandon the sale (h/t Daily Express).

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Now, with United having both of their right-backs fit and firing, minutes are going to be scarce for the Italian. Moreover, the Red Devils have gotten knocked out from the Carabao Cup too, leaving Darmian in a tight spot. January should be the perfect opportunity for United to let Darmian leave to help him reboot his stuttering career elsewhere.