Matteo Darmian Admits He Misses Italy Amid Rumours of January Exit From Man Utd
Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian has admitted he misses life in Italy, adding he hopes to leave the club and return to the Serie A soon.
Darmian left Italian side Torino to join United in 2015, but has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford in recent years. He made just 17 appearances for the Red Devils last season and has just three outings to his name this season, prompting rumours of an imminent departure from the club.
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Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport asked Darmian about his future, and he confessed that he hopes to return to Italy soon. He is quoted by Eurosport as saying: “I must say, I really do miss Serie A and Italy now.
“I know that I am at one of the best clubs in the world and I am proud to be at Manchester United, but I do miss Italy. I love my country.
"Returning to play for Italy is my objective. [Italy manager] Roberto Mancini hasn't called me up yet, but I hope he will in future."
Darmian's current contract in Manchester expires at the end of the season, although the club have the option to extend that deal for a further year.
In order to maximise any transfer fee, United could trigger the contract extension in Darmian's deal, before selling the 29-year-old to the highest bidder.
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Juventus, Roma, Inter, Napoli and AC Milan are all said to be interested in bringing the Italian international back to his homeland, whilst Valencia and Benfica are also believed to have expressed an interest in the defender.
Darmian has made 36 appearances for Italy since making his debut in 2014. However, he has not featured for the team since November 2017, with the likes of Chelsea's Davide Zappacosta and Roma's Alessandro Florenzi seemingly ahead of Darmian in the pecking order.
