Manchester United outcast ready to be offloaded to Serie A

Jose Mourinho is craving to find a defensive back-line that can aid Manchester United's chances of challenging for the top-four in the second half of the season, but the Portuguese boss has decided that Matteo Darmian will not be a key figure in the United defensive wall, and the 28-year-old is set to head out of the door of Old Trafford in January.

Having joined from Torino in 2015 for £12.7m, Darmian was expected to be a ready-made fit for a United side that was falling behind it's local rivals Manchester City, but while he featured frequently in his first season under Louis Van Gaal the Italian international has fallen out of favour and has struggled to play any significant role in the last two seasons.

According to The Sun, Mourinho is happy to keep Darmian in his squad, but has already told the experienced player that he will not be an integral figure at the club, and is willing to let him leave in January to try and find a club as United look to cut their losses somewhat and try and get as much money as possible for the inconsistent player.

Roma and Inter Milan are two of the teams linked with signing Darmian, who sparkled in Serie A before moving to Old Trafford, but as his stock has fallen significantly over the last three years he will be wanting to recapture the form that earned him a flurry of international caps and he is set to leave The Theatre Of Dreams when the transfer window opens.

So, while Mourinho will have a beady eye on Manchester Derby where United face City in a thriller, he is still looking to trim his squad back significantly and Darmian's exit could path way for a new man coming in when the window opens in a less than two months.