Manchester United defender Guillermo Varela hoping to stay at Frankfurt

Manchester United full-back Guillermo Varela is hoping to make his loan stay at Eintracht Frankfurt a permanent one at the end of the season.

Varela, who broke into the United first-team last season under Louis van Gaal with some impressive performances at right-back, became the first casualty of Jose Mourinho's broom last summer.

The defender was left out of the club's pre-season tour in China after being given permission to hold talks with Frankfurt.

But in just his second appearance for the Bundesliga cub, Varela suffered an ankle ligament injury in September that saw him sidelined for six months. While he briefly returned in February, he was forced to undergo another operation in early-March to remove a screw was placed in his ankle following surgery after his initial injury.

After returning in what was just his fourth league appearance of the season against Hoffenheim on Sunday, the 24-year-old is looking to finish the season on a high, and hopes his spell in the German city continues beyond this summer.

Speaking to Kicker, Varela said: "I want to stay here, so if the club wants it, it is an option."

Varela spent less than a month working under Mourinho before his loan move to Germany was sanctioned, but the right-back was left with a positive impression of the manager from that short space of time.

"I talked to Jose Mourinho and we talked about my future and what would be best for me," Varela told the Manchester Evening News in March. "He was very sincere towards me. He told me my playing time would be little so my decision was that I preferred to go.

"A player needs to play and this is what I am looking for and this is what I sought here in Frankfurt.