Solskjaer confirms Darmian likely to leave, Rojo to stay

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s summer clear out continues apace. Having jettisoned Marouane Fellaini immediately after arriving, then allowed Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia to leave, Solskjaer is now getting around to clearing some more dead wood and players he doesn’t fancy. Romelu Lukaku didn’t fit Solskjaer’s style — because he prefers players who can control a ball and also not report for pre-season training a stone overweight — so he was sold. Alexis Sánchez was a waste of everyone’s time, and he has been sent on loan to hopefully never be seen again. Chris Smalling has spent ten years chipping away at our collective sanity, and he is soon to join Lukaku and Sánchez in Serie A.

But OGS isn’t done yet. The boss confirmed in Friday’s press conference that Matteo Darmian — who is somehow still getting paid actual, real life money to play for Manchester United despite doing nothing of the sort — is likely to finally leave. It has been reported for years now that “clubs in Serie A” (thank god for that league) are “interested” in Darmian’s services, but none of that interest has ever come to anything. Probably because he’s rubbish and is being paid a fortune.

“I can see maybe Matteo [leaving] - there has been some interest in Matteo over in Italy.”

Unfortunately, with Smalling leaving and Eric Bailly injured, one other useless Louis van Gaal signing is going to stay at the club for now. Marcos Rojo, who was reportedly denied a deadline day move to Everton, will now remain at United to bolster the defensive numbers.

“Marcos, he’s staying, definitely. So, we’ve got a squad now that is less in numbers but still big enough and strong enough to have cover in all positions.”

Swings and roundabouts.