He may have performed admirably last year but there was always a sense that Antonio Valencia was a square peg in a round hole for Man United last season. The Ecuadorian certainly did a job at right back but it would have been very surprising had Louis Van Gaal chosen not to strengthen that area during the transfer window.
A number of names have been linked and now it appears that Van Gaal has settled on the man he wants with Sky Sports reporting that United have agreed a £12.7 million deal to take Torino's Matteo Darmian to Old Trafford.
The 25 year old Italian international came through the ranks at AC Milan without ever really making a definitive breakthrough. He moved to Turin, via Palermo, in 2011 and firmly began to establish himself there.
Although primarily a right back, Darmian is more than capable of filling in across the back line having started his career as a central defender and also looking comfortable on the left.
Darmian's expected arrival will likely signal the end of Rafael's Old Trafford career with Galatasaray and Napoli thought to be keen to take him off Van Gaal's hands. From an Irish point of view, the expected deal also means that Seamus Coleman's rumoured move to Old Trafford is very unlikely to happen.
