Rafael da Silva 'close to Galatasaray move' as Manchester United are set to sign Matteo Darmian

Manchester United are ready to let Rafael da Silva move to Galatasaray as the club expect to announce the arrival of Torino right-back Matteo Darmian to replace the Brazilian as Louis van Gaal's second summer signing, according to The Guardian.

The Dutch boss had earmarked the signing of a right-back as one of the priorities of the summer transfer window after being forced to use winger Antonio Valencia in that position during his first season at Old Trafford – due to recurrent injuries and a reported lack of faith in Rafael.

Having moved to Old Trafford alongside his brother Fabio in summer 2008, the Brazilian right-back was an important player during Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure but has failed to convinced van Gaal he deserves a place in his plans.

The defender only made 10 Premier League appearances last season, being sidelined much of the time for a string of groin problems, a rib injury and a fractured cheekbone.

The Guardian says this has led van Gaal to let him move to the Turkish side which recently secured the services of Lukas Podolski from Arsenal.

The Guardian suggests this decision is linked to the imminent arrival of Darmian from Torino in a deal worth about £12.9m ($20m, €18m).

Sky Italia already reported on Thursday (9July) that the Italian defender was due to have his medical on Friday ahead of his imminent move to Man U following the arrival of Memphis Depay from PSV earlier on May.

Torino president Urbano Cairo, however, has claimed that the deal is yet to be concluded.

"I'm very fond of Darmian. Matteo is a very important player for us. He's essential and well liked. Manchester United are a great club but there's still nothing done regarding his sale. Until there is something definite, I'd prefer not to speak about it officially," the Torino president told La7, as quoted by Goal.