Matteo Darmian: Italian’s situation defines where Manchester United go wrong

When Matteo Darmian arrived at Manchester United, he wasn’t expected to make a massive impact in any way. A no-nonsense right-back who could play as a third centre-back or as a left-back, Darmian had enjoyed consistency and praise at Torino and for the Azzurri.

The fee of £12.7m that was handed over to Torino meant the move was not hyped at all. But the presence of other players at his position and in the side meant that the signing went under the radar. And the first season at Old Trafford under Louis van Gaal was impressive enough for him to be called United’s first-choice right-back.

Fast forward to that now, Darmian’s situation at United has become something you should pity. Still 29, the Italian has to be given massive credit for acting very professional despite not being played by the club these days. He has never cribbed or cried about not playing despite United having failed to sell him to Juventus and Inter Milan multiple times.

But the situation he is stuck in defines the bad way in which Manchester United are run. If it were any other player, he would have handed in a transfer request to move back to his home country, with his career basically stalling.

It is a well documented fact that one reason why United are not pulling up any trees is the recruitment and the way the club is run. It reeks of a lack of direction and a dearth of planning, leading to lax transfer decisions being made every single time. What has been happening because of how much Alexis Sanchez earns is something that a better run club like Manchester City realised much before.

Darmian’s case though, is another one which brings to the fore a lot of Ed Woodward’s shortcomings. It has benefited no one. Apart from the club that will sign him soon and probably bring the best out of him.

It isn’t only now that Darmian’s situation is what it is. Same was the case last season and even during Jose Mourinho’s first season, to an extent. It has been as many as four transfer windows since talks about Darmian heading to Inter or Juventus have been going on. Fees have been agreed a vast majority of times, including last summer.

But in the end, nothing comes of it. United end up stalling the move in search of more bonuses in a possible deal and the interested club signs someone else. Juventus signed Joao Cancelo, thanks to the efforts of Jorge Mendes and have Leonardo Spinazzola shining. Inter’s case is slightly different as both Sime Vrsaljko and Cedric have failed to work out, a season after Cancelo spent a very good loan spell at the San Siro.

The bonuses United have demanded for usually would make sure that the deal hands them some profit from how much they signed the player for. But with repeated attempts to sell him failing, the club have stuck to their demands despite the player’s career going down the drain. And with every passing transfer window, the value of the player is falling continuously. And Darmian is not getting any younger with every passing day.

His contract is now expiring in the summer and Darmian has not progressed as a player since he arrived. Teams won’t pay more than £12.7 million for a player who has grown older and has not improved. Agreed, he played big roles in United’s march towards the Europa League title in 2017 but Darmian’s progress has stagnated, if it has not regressed.

It is the fact that his contract expires in the summer that shows how bad the state of the policy of the club is. He will leave in the summer for free, probably for Inter. And it helps no one but Inter, who have their own FFP regulations to deal with. It maybe helps Darmian too, as he is escaping the cage to a better place. But United will get nothing from a deal that they were looking to get a profit from- for some reason that only a banker will understand.

Darmian is still a very good player. For a club like Inter, which is still looking for a perfect first-choice right-back, he will come in very handy indeed. And being back in his home country will be massive for him. He still has 3 or 4 good football years left in the tank and he needs the move.

It is the exposing of deadwood (or the lack of it) that lets Manchester United down more than signing the better players. Teams like Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City have done that to perfection and at the right time and that’s why they are the top three teams in the country. At United, the deadwood has not been dealt with well and that is holding them back. Big time.

If there’s any Manchester United player who should be respected more than anyone else for being professional, it is Matteo Darmian.