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Football

26th May 2018

Matteo Darmian set to seal Manchester United exit imminently

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Simon Lloyd

For all the talk of who might be arriving at Old Trafford this summer, it’s worth pointing out there’s expected to be a few departures from Manchester United, too.

It seems increasingly likely that Marouane Fellaini will be on his way, with reports linking him to a move to Turkey and, more recently, AC Milan. Daley Blind is also thought to be departing in the coming weeks having come narrowly close to joining AS Roma in January.

But it seems the first of United’s first team squad to leave will be Matteo Darmian. The Italian international arrived from Torino in 2015 but has found his opportunities increasingly limited over the last two seasons.

Speculation has linked him with a return to Turin, only this time to his former club’s city rivals, Juventus. Further reports from Italy now claim this transfer could be imminent, with Football Italia stating that Darmian will ink a five-year contract with the Serie A champions in the coming days.

United are expected to receive £11m for the player, £4m less than they paid for him three years ago. This would suggest Darmian isn’t being used as a makeweight in a deal for Alex Sandro, Juve’s Brazilian full-back who is believed to be interesting the 20-time English champions.

Elsewhere, United are believed to be interested in signing Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, with Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld also said to be on their list of transfer targets.