The Manchester United full-back Matteo Darmian is close to joining Juventus on loan until the end of the season in a deal that would see the Italian champions having the option to sign him permanently in the summer for €8m (£7.1m).
Darmian’s contract expires in the summer but United would extend that for one year in order to get a fee for the 29-year-old. The player, who has 36 caps for Italy, joined United in 2015 but has not played regularly for Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho or the current interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
He has made 59 league appearances in his three and a half season at Old Trafford, scoring one goal. This season he has played three full league games but only a single minute since Solskjær took over.
Juventus, who will pay Manchester United a loan fee of £2.6m if the deal goes through, view Darmian as an excellent utility player as he can operate in a number of positions and the two clubs are in advanced talks to see if they can agree a deal. The player is keen for a return to Serie A but it remains to see whether United sanction the deal.
United secured their seventh straight win under Solskjær – in seven games under the Norwegian – and have risen to sixth in the Premier League table, three points behind Chelsea in fourth. They beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 on Saturday after goals from Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford.