Manchester United turned down Matteo Darmian bids, laments agent

Manchester United turned down offers from Italian clubs for defender Matteo Darmian during the summer transfer window, according to the player's agent. The 26-year-old has endured a torrid spell at Old Trafford since arriving from Torino in 2015 and was denied the opportunity to end his misery in the off-season.

Damian did make 39 appearances under Louis van Gaal during the 2015-16 campaign but came in for significant criticism for a series a poor displays. By the end of the term Italian had been sidelined however he did play in the FA Cup final victory over Crystal Palace at Wembley.

The return to fitness of Luke Shaw, signing of Eric Bailly and emergence of Timothy Fosu-Mensah has seen Darmian drop further down the pecking order at United, leading him to seek a move away from the Premier League. But the player's representative says Jose Mourinho rejected numerous offers during the summer

"He's playing little or nothing and it's a shame because he's an Italy international," Fausto Pari told Radio CRC of Darmian, who has made one appearance this season for United, according to Sky Sports. "If the situation doesn't change by January, we'll have to think of something. He risks also losing his place in the national team.

"We've got to see what United want to do. Italian clubs have tried, but United closed the door immediately. We're only at the start of October so there is still time and we will see how the situation evolves.

"Napoli have [Ivan] Strinic in that position, though. I don't want to do [Napoli sporting director Cristiano] Giuntoli's work for him, though, and it will be up to them to decide whether they want to make a move for Darmian."

Antonio Valencia, Daley Blind and Shaw have been deployed in the full-back positions this term, leading to Darmian being marginalised from the first team. Though with United still having to balance their EFL Cup and Europa League commitments with their Premier League schedule there does remain an opportunity for Darmian to force his way into the reckoning.

Despite being a peripheral figure for United, Darmian was included in Italy's squad for their World Cup qualifying double-header against Spain and Macedonia. He was an unused substitute in the stalemate with the 2010 world champions and is in contention for a recall for the second international on Sunday [9 October].