Jose Mourinho’s lack of fondness for his predecessor’s signings hasn’t exactly been a secret over the last two years. Louis van Gaal was in charge at Old Trafford for two seasons, and in the two years since the Dutchman was unceremoniously fired after lifting the FA Cup in 2016, a plethora of players brought in by the Dutchman have been shipped out of the club by Mourinho.
In the January transfer window of 2017, Morgan Schneiderlin was sold to Everton, Bastian Schweinsteiger made barely a handful of appearances before being allowed to leave for Chicago Fire and Memphis Depay was allowed to leave for Olympique Lyonnasis. The Dutchman is the only one to have truly thrived since leaving Old Trafford, with over 20 goals registered last season, and with rumours swirling around the futures of Daley Blind and Anthony Martial, it’s safe to assume that those signed during Van Gaal’s era are far from safe in regards to prolonging their United careers.
One other player who appears on the verge of an exit from England is Matteo Darmian. Signed from Torino in the summer of 2015, the Italian right back started strongly at Old Trafford before slipping behind Antonio Valencia in the pecking order and failing to regain his place ever since. Opportunities for the Italian to regain his place have been plenty, but Mourinho clearly doesn’t favour him, so reports of a move back to his homeland in The Guardian are far from surprising. The identity of his potential destination may raise a few eyebrows, with Serie A champions Juventus close to agreeing a deal for the 28-year old.
Given the frequency with which Darmian has failed to shine in Mourinho’s United side, which is hardly renowned for its attacking style, his sale is hardly a surprise, yet Juventus’ interest in him would certainly suggest that the Italian giants believe that they are capable of getting more out of the player than the Portuguese did. His performances for the Old Lady will certainly be of interest in that regard.
