The Manchester United full-back is out of favour at Old Trafford and Conte could make a move to bring the Italian to West London.
Manchester United’s Matteo Darmian in action with Feyenoord’s Tonny Vilhena
Chelsea are tracking Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian, according to various reports in Italy and reported by the Daily Express.
Blues boss Antonio Conte has worked closely with Darmian during his two-year spell in charge of the Italian national team and could make a move to bring the versatile full-back to Stamford Bridge with the 26-year-old’s future at United all but over.
The former Torino defender only joined The Red Devils last summer after being signed by Louis van Gaal, but since the arrival of Jose Mourinho, Darmian has featured just once this season and has frequently failed to make the matchday squads this term.
Matteo Darmian
Antonio Valencia and even 18-year-old Timothy Fosu-Mensah are ahead of the right back in the pecking order who has been tracked by Inter Milan for a quickfire return to Serie A according to publication Passione Inter, who made a move to sign him on loan in January.
But the Express suggests that Chelsea’s interest in the defender has put off Inter from making a formal move to sign Darmian, with Conte looking at cover for both full-back positions.
With Branislav Ivanovic’s poor performance against Arsenal resulting in him being dropped for the recent win over Hull, Conte shifted to a 3-5-2 for the first time against The Tigers with Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses playing as wing-backs.
Matteo Darmian celebrates after scoring for Manchester United against Crystal Palace last season
Aside from Alonso and Ivanovic, Cesar Azpilicueta is the club’s only other senior full-back with Darmian able to play at both right and left back and has played under Conte’s 3-5-2 formation for Italy which makes him a perfect fit for the former Juventus coach.
Darmian started his Manchester United career off with a man of the match performance in the opening day win over Tottenham last season, but his form dipped dramatically over Christmas and found himself struggling to stay in the side under van Gaal.
Due to Ivanovic’s decline and Azpilicueta likely to be shifted over to right back, Darmian could fight with Alonso for the left wing back position should Chelsea make their move and his relationship with Conte could make a deal happen, but with his best times at Torino, Darmian could equally cut his losses and leave England for a return to Italy in January.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
