Matteo Darmian

A very average player in my opinion.

He isn't very good at attacking. Never offers the threat someone like Alves, Walker or Bellerin would. He isn't particularly great at defending either and has been caught wondering a few times this season, hense Valencia (almost 32) being our first option.

If Juve, or anyone else came in with a offer of £15-20m, I think we should bite their hand off and re-invest the money.
 
Anything in the 15-20M is good business from us IMO. But I wouldn't be in a massive hurry to sell him tbh. Perfectly capable understudy to Valencia.
 
As with others I am not too fussed either way. If it meant Mitchell got a few more games here and there I would be all for it.
 
He's a great squad option but he just doesn't have any attacking ability.

This is strange though, as he looked pretty good going forward when he first joined us before he was Van Galled!
 
No way should we be selling without signing a fullback first.
 
I don't think van Gaal took away his ability to control a football, that was never really there in the first place. He's another defender in our squad that treats the ball like a bomb, playing him in a back four with Smalling or Jones is just asking for trouble, thankfully for us he starts for Italy and incredibly we might actually make a decent profit.
 
He offers way too little attacking wise to be a consistent starter at left back for us, also too afraid of the ball sometimes. But right now, with no replacement, injuries and Shaw both out of favor and always on the verge of injury, it would be mental to just ship him.
 
Having Blind and Rojo there would be a downgrade at this point in time. Shaw is a sicknote and massive question marks hang over his head and Mitchell is a no name and shouldnt be relied upon or expected to be in the first team next season.

Selling him for peanuts is not the way forward at the moment. He seems to be in the 3 most disliked players on here alongside Fellaini and Lingard, so much that people throw logic and common sense out of the window.

He was very good in the final and got steadily better at the end, seems happy here and isnt stealing a wage. As far as i am concerned, he can stay as a squad player and our current best LB option and i would have no issues, since our squad has much more pressing needs
 
I don't dislike Darmian, in fact, I think he seems a really decent bloke. He's not a bad player at all, just limited, but the problem I have with him is there is a very good chance that he walks out of the tunnel at OT against West Ham as our first choice LB. Shaw probably won't be fit, he never is nowadays, and Jose doesn't seem to like Blind at LB so Darmian will probably be our first choice LB.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how far we've fallen. He's a top 6-8 player, not a title contenders' player, and that's why we're where we are.
 
Could be used as a means to get Perisic, if Inter continue to be difficult.
 
izec said:
Having Blind and Rojo there would be a downgrade at this point in time. Shaw is a sicknote and massive question marks hang over his head and Mitchell is a no name and shouldnt be relied upon or expected to be in the first team next season.

Selling him for peanuts is not the way forward at the moment. He seems to be in the 3 most disliked players on here alongside Fellaini and Lingard, so much that people throw logic and common sense out of the window.

He was very good in the final and got steadily better at the end, seems happy here and isnt stealing a wage. As far as i am concerned, he can stay as a squad player and our current best LB option and i would have no issues, since our squad has much more pressing needs
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Funnily he and Lingard get mainly criticised for not being good in the final third. The difference is that one of the 2 is an attacking player and the other not.
 
I think every squad needs a Darmian. He is a solid back up option to both RB & LB positions and at a stretch, can be put in a 3 man defence.

The issue here is Shaw isn't producing the goods/is almost always unfit. Either we get a new first choice left-back or hold out for him coming good.
 
Successful said:
He had some moments at the end of the season. I just don't think he's the type of player we should be playing. He's a typical backup player for Man United. Should definitely go back to Serie A.
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Not typical back-up if he's playing well. Not all of our XI will ever be world class. A good player.

Nori- said:
A very average player in my opinion.

He isn't very good at attacking. Never offers the threat someone like Alves, Walker or Bellerin would. He isn't particularly great at defending either and has been caught wondering a few times this season, hense Valencia (almost 32) being our first option.

If Juve, or anyone else came in with a offer of £15-20m, I think we should bite their hand off and re-invest the money.
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Walker? Better at defending than attacking, Alves is a borderline winger and Bellerin is shit. Besides, I'd consider Darmian a left-back anyway.
 
SoCross said:
I think every squad needs a Darmian. He is a solid back up option to both RB & LB positions and at a stretch, can be put in a 3 man defence.

The issue here is Shaw isn't producing the goods/is almost always unfit. Either we get a new first choice left-back or hold out for him coming good.
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I think his best position would be on the right of a back three, probably still wouldn't excel because he lacks the composure and ability on the ball, but I'd definitely rather see him in that role than at left back.
 
Special_One said:
Not typical back-up if he's playing well. Not all of our XI will ever be world class. A good player.

Walker? Better at defending than attacking, Alves is a borderline winger and Bellerin is shit. Besides, I'd consider Darmian a left-back anyway.
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Darmian at left back is just not good enough offensively. Personally, I would consider the lack of a good LB one of the bigger reasons our players at LW were playing below par.

Having a good LB that goes forward with some pace and has the ability to cross present a big problem for defenses. It puts more pressure on them, puts them on the backfoot and allows our LW to have more options and more space to get creative. Shaw in good form did exactly that, but Blind and Darmian do not have all the right qualities. Darmian is strong defensively but not offensively. Also, he is right footed so he can never come over the top and cross with his left foot.
Blind is much better with the ball but lacks the speed to really come over the top. Also, he is just to weak defensively.

Valencia does a great job at this at RB. Developed his defensive qualities the past 2-3 seasons and has the pace and stamina to keep on going on that right flank.

I would really like to see stats about our play over left wing and compare it to the right wing. I believe that we are passing back wat more often from the left wing than the right and also have much less crosses come in from the deep on the left wing.
 
SwansonsTache said:
Considering it is Juve we'll do well to get £20m.

Their first offer will probably be a three year loan deal with us subsidising half the wages.
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I think it is possible :D Anyway it does not look like he is a primary target at the moment, unless Sandro leaves. We have Spinazzola on loan to Atalanta who I think is better than Darmian anyway
 
TheForgottenOne said:
Darmian at left back is just not good enough offensively. Personally, I would consider the lack of a good LB one of the bigger reasons our players at LW were playing below par.

Having a good LB that goes forward with some pace and has the ability to cross present a big problem for defenses. It puts more pressure on them, puts them on the backfoot and allows our LW to have more options and more space to get creative. Shaw in good form did exactly that, but Blind and Darmian do not have all the right qualities. Darmian is strong defensively but not offensively. Also, he is right footed so he can never come over the top and cross with his left foot.
Blind is much better with the ball but lacks the speed to really come over the top. Also, he is just to weak defensively.

Valencia does a great job at this at RB. Developed his defensive qualities the past 2-3 seasons and has the pace and stamina to keep on going on that right flank.

I would really like to see stats about our play over left wing and compare it to the right wing. I believe that we are passing back wat more often from the left wing than the right and also have much less crosses come in from the deep on the left wing.
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Have you not cottoned on to Mourinho's style? One attacking full-back, one defensive one. Always has been like that.
 
simonhch said:
Anything in the 15-20M is good business from us IMO. But I wouldn't be in a massive hurry to sell him tbh. Perfectly capable understudy to Valencia.
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Wouldn't sell him for anything less than 30m in this market, ask for 35m. Purely because anyone on his level would cost us around that mark.
 
Special_One said:
Have you not cottoned on to Mourinho's style? One attacking full-back, one defensive one. Always has been like that.
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Thats only in effect when Darmian plays. Mourinho went into plenty of matches last year with Valencia and Shaw as the fullbacks, so which one was the defensive fullback in those matches?
 
stevoc said:
Thats only in effect when Darmian plays. Mourinho went into plenty of matches last year with Valencia and Shaw as the fullbacks, so which one was the defensive fullback in those matches?
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Not to mention the pairing Young-Shaw or Valencia-Young.
 
Not in any position to sell anyone given not much is coming in the opposite direction......
 
Android1974 said:
Not to mention the pairing Young-Shaw or Valencia-Young.
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Yeah exactly, even the idea of a defensive fullback and an attacking fullback doesn't really make sense. A fullbacks job (good ones anyway) is to attack and defend, it doesn't make any real sense to have one sitting back all the time. Certainly not at home or against lesser opposition, you just hamper your attack down one side of the pitch.

Look at last year i don't really remember any winger in front of Darmian having a good game, they inevitably get double teamed and crowded out of the game as Darmian won't cross the halfway line.
 
stevoc said:
Thats only in effect when Darmian plays. Mourinho went into plenty of matches last year with Valencia and Shaw as the fullbacks, so which one was the defensive fullback in those matches?
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And that's why he doesn't play Shaw....
 
Special_One said:
And that's why he doesn't play Shaw....
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No it isn't, he didn't play Shaw all the time largely due to his injuries. But you can substitute Shaw for Young, Blind or Mitchell, jesus even Rojo and Bailly and it would be the same. Everyone of them when played at fullback last year got up the pitch on the overlap and at least tried to contribute something in attack.

The only one who spent whole games camped out in his own half was Darmian, so based on that it's nonsense to suggest we play with one ''defensive fullback''. We don't it's just how Darmian plays, he was the same under LVG. Here's a quote someone dug up from a Shaw interview last year.

Speaking to MUTV , Shaw said: "At times people have said maybe he [Mourinho] doesn’t like his full-backs to go forward but that’s not the case. He gives both full-backs that license to go forward, obviously not at the same time but if I have the chance then it’s up to me if I want to go forward or not. It’s not that I’ve got to stay put or do particular things, I’ve got the freedom to play and that only gives me the confidence in what I want to do to help the team."
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stevoc said:
No it isn't, he didn't play Shaw all the time largely due to his injuries. But you can substitute Shaw for Young, Blind or Mitchell, jesus even Rojo and Bailly and it would be the same. Everyone of them when played at fullback last year got up the pitch on the overlap and at least tried to contribute something in attack.

The only one who spent whole games camped out in his own half was Darmian, so based on that it's nonsense to suggest we play with one ''defensive fullback''. We don't it's just how Darmian plays, he was the same under LVG. Here's a quote someone dug up from a Shaw interview last year.
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I stand corrected on the Shaw quotes.
 
Makeweight for the Perišić deal? Good and trustworthy player, but it's a position we have average players in excess.
 
stevoc said:
Thats only in effect when Darmian plays. Mourinho went into plenty of matches last year with Valencia and Shaw as the fullbacks, so which one was the defensive fullback in those matches?
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Mourinho will play two attacking fullbacks but he will insist only one attacks at a time. The attacker has to be good at it and the one sitting back needs to be good at that.

Shaw is barely playing because he's not better than Valencia going forward and he's not as good as Darmian defensively. In Mourinho's world defence comes first.
 
Special_One said:
Have you not cottoned on to Mourinho's style? One attacking full-back, one defensive one. Always has been like that.
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That's rubbish in my opinion. Obviously it depends on the opponent and the game. There is a reason why Mourinho played Blind in LB against weaker opponents and Darmian against stronger opponents. That's because against the weaker sides, we are going to be on their half most of the time and so the attacking abilities are more important than the defensive. Blind is better with the ball and in going forward, so Darmian gets sidelined in those games. With Valencia playing on the other side, there are 2 backs on the pitch that go forward.

If you have a LB that you don't want to play against weaker sides because he is worthless with the ball, then such a player can never be regarded as a starting 11 player. What is the point in keeping him when you can try and get someone who you can actually play in all games because he has enough qualities in both aspects.

*edit* Should have read on before hitting reply. As you can see, I totally agree with some of the other comments.
 
11101 said:
Mourinho will play two attacking fullbacks but he will insist only one attacks at a time. The attacker has to be good at it and the one sitting back needs to be good at that.
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Yes one fullback attacks and the other one hangs back, but the attacking fullback alternates between the two. Read the quote from Shaw above, there is no specific attacking fullback and no specific defensive fullback. Unless of course we are playing Valencia and Darmian in which case we only have one FB willing to contribute something in attack. But even then thats not down to the manager instructing them to play like that.

Shaw is barely playing because he's not better than Valencia going forward and he's not as good as Darmian defensively. In Mourinho's world defence comes first.
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If you judge Darmians defensive capability on performances over his entire two seasons here and not just the last two months of last season when he looked good defensively in defensive set-ups. Then no i wouldn't agree Darmian is better defensively than any of our fullbacks Shaw included.
 
stevoc said:
Yes one fullback attacks and the other one hangs back, but the attacking fullback alternates between the two. Read the quote from Shaw above, there is no specific attacking fullback and no specific defensive fullback. Unless of course we are playing Valencia and Darmian in which case we only have one FB willing to contribute something in attack. But even then thats not down to the manager instructing them to play like that.



If you judge Darmians defensive capability on performances over his entire two seasons here and not just the last two months of last season when he looked good defensively in defensive set-ups. Then no i wouldn't agree Darmian is better defensively than any of our fullbacks Shaw included.
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I disagree on the last point. When he finally got fit under LVG he was still leaving gaping holes behind him on the flank. I can remember specifically the Swansea game costing us a goal and there was another game I forget, and he was only playing for a month or so. He was being praised for good attacking play but defensively he has never been brilliant for us, particularly his positioning/recovery play.

Darmian's attacking play ranges from average to non existent but he rarely gets beaten and he is almost never caught out of position.
 
stevoc said:
No it isn't, he didn't play Shaw all the time largely due to his injuries. But you can substitute Shaw for Young, Blind or Mitchell, jesus even Rojo and Bailly and it would be the same. Everyone of them when played at fullback last year got up the pitch on the overlap and at least tried to contribute something in attack.

The only one who spent whole games camped out in his own half was Darmian, so based on that it's nonsense to suggest we play with one ''defensive fullback''. We don't it's just how Darmian plays, he was the same under LVG. Here's a quote someone dug up from a Shaw interview last year.
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Interesting, that Mourinho was highly critical of Shaw for not understanding his role and being unable to follow instructions. I don't remember that type of criticism of Darmian.
 
11101 said:
I disagree on the last point. When he finally got fit under LVG he was still leaving gaping holes behind him on the flank. I can remember specifically the Swansea game costing us a goal and there was another game I forget, and he was only playing for a month or so. He was being praised for good attacking play but defensively he has never been brilliant for us, particularly his positioning/recovery play.
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Shaw?

11101 said:
Darmian's attacking play ranges from average to non existent but he rarely gets beaten and he is almost never caught out of position.
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I can't say i agree with that at all mate, as i said he did really well towards the end of last year defensively fair play to him. But for most of his season under LVG and at least the first 5-6 months under Jose he was getting skinned by anyone with pace or a bit of trickery.

Teams were specifically attacking down his side whenever he played. Look at the Spurs game away the season before last 0-0 and then Darmian comes on 3-0 down within 10 minutes all the attacks came down his side.
 
rocks13 said:
Interesting, that Mourinho was highly critical of Shaw for not understanding his role and being unable to follow instructions. I don't remember that type of criticism of Darmian.
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Well Jose seems to be more critical of young players with huge potential like Shaw and Martial, probably as a means of motivation. Shaw is capable of much more than he has shown in a United shirt. Darmian not so much, he's just a limited player playing out of position most games.
 
I don't get this general talk some posters drum on about that Darmian was in some way solid defensively, in my opinion he's dreadful and anytime he came up against a solid attacker he struggled. I think Shaw has showed much more than Darmian ever did, and unlike the italian i'm sure Shaw can improve, Matteo is too limited and never a Manchester United fullback. And that utility squad role he supposedly should take, i'd rather be given to Blind. I know Daley can't play right back but with the emergence of Tuanzebe/Fosu-Mensah it would benefit the team long-term if they get those minutes instead of Darmian.
 
stevoc said:
Shaw?

I can't say i agree with that at all mate, as i said he did really well towards the end of last year defensively fair play to him. But for most of his season under LVG and at least the first 5-6 months under Jose he was getting skinned by anyone with pace or a bit of trickery.

Teams were specifically attacking down his side whenever he played. Look at the Spurs game away the season before last 0-0 and then Darmian comes on 3-0 down within 10 minutes all the attacks came down his side.
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Yes Shaw.

Darmian has had some shaky times but in my opinion it was more down to confidence than ability. He always got skinned when attackers ran at him and he couldnt show them to a side. It was like he didnt know whether to commit to a tackle or stand them up. Other situations he was always fine. We didn't change anything drastically in the formation but he looked terrified of playing for a while. Now he seems ok again and hopefully another season into the league he will be fine from now on.
 
11101 said:
Yes Shaw.

Darmian has had some shaky times but in my opinion it was more down to confidence than ability. He always got skinned when attackers ran at him and he couldnt show them to a side. It was like he didnt know whether to commit to a tackle or stand them up. Other situations he was always fine. We didn't change anything drastically in the formation but he looked terrified of playing for a while. Now he seems ok again and hopefully another season into the league he will be fine from now on.
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Yeah Darmian definitely looked much better defensively from March onwards last season, i never thought it was a talent issue more a compatibility issue. He's never really looked comfortable with the pace of the Premier League for me, his stamina might be the cause and might be the reason he's always so reluctant to venture up the pitch. If he stays i hope that end of season form continues, but i have a feeling he might go though and to be honest we could do better even as a back-up.

The only set-up Darmian has looked good in is a highly organised set-up where he's given basically a marking job with no attacking responsibility like against Chelsea or Ajax. But for 75-80% of our games he just doesn't have enough attacking output to ever be first choice in my opinion. Certainly not at RB anyway with Valencia there, and that's Darmians best position.
 
Would it be harsh to be suspicious of his return to form? I'm of the opinion he's not keen on English football and his vastly improved performances will make it easier for him to find a club (which reports suggest he's pushing for).
 
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