Manchester United Transfer News: Latest on Fabinho and Memphis Depay Rumours

Manchester United could reportedly be priced out of a move for Monaco full-back Fabinho, with the Ligue 1 side said to be demanding €40 million (£36 million) for the player.

That’s according to Kris Voakes of Goal, who added their valuation of the defender may have a knock-on effect on the future of Matteo Darmian, who has been linked with a potential January exit having scarcely featured under new manager Jose Mourinho.

“Serie A giants Inter are the club most fancied to take the plunge of Darmian, but Goal understands that Frank de Boer’s side do not see him as a priority and may only consider an approach if United are open to a loan move,” Voakes added.

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Fabinho has been impressive for Monaco in French football’s top flight, excelling both in central midfield and as a full-back. Here’s a look at what he can offer:

You can see exactly why Fabinho would appeal to Mourinho. The 22-year-old is dynamic, aggressive and can adapt his style. They’re attributes that make him a more natural fit for the Portuguese’s blueprint than a player like Darmian.

As these numbers from WhoScored.com illustrate, not only is Fabinho capable of performing at the very highest level, he's also shown he can thrive against Premier League opposition:

Even so, the sum aforementioned seems like an excessive amount. Fabinho has great potential and could be a wonderful building block at Old Trafford, but there are areas of his game he’d need to refine to immediately acclimatise to life in English football.

Darmian will surely be keen to move on in January. At the moment, Mourinho favours makeshift full-back Antonio Valencia and rising star Timothy Fosu-Mensah on the right side of defence over the Italian international. If he were to return to Serie A, you sense Darmian would find his best form quickly again.

Wolfsburg Linked With Memphis Depay

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According to Bild (h/t Liam Spence of the Daily Express) Wolfsburg are ready to offer Memphis Depay a way out of Manchester United.

The Dutchman arrived at Old Trafford from PSV Eindhoven last summer with a reputation as one of European football’s most exciting rising stars. However, he failed to find any consistency for the Red Devils in his debut term and has yet to start in the Premier League under Mourinho.

With that in mind, it’s little surprise that speculation is beginning to mount over a potential departure away from United. With the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial thriving from wide positions currently, it’s difficult to see quite how Depay will force his way into Mourinho’s first-team plans.

As we can see here, Depay has previously made it clear he doesn’t want to have a bit-part role to play at United, per Liam Prenderville of the Daily Mirror (h/t Bleacher Report UK):

It’d be a shame if he were to depart having failed to realise his potential, because there is a wonderful player in there to be awoken. Here’s a reminder of how good Depay was in his last season at PSV:

Mourinho may not be the right manager to harness Depay’s talent. The Dutchman requires freedom on the field to be at his absolute best, something at odds with the United boss’ demand that all players are defensively focused.

Depay seems aware that he has an important decision to make. At 22, his career is still in its infancy, and there’s still a lot of time for him to accomplish plenty in football. However, the longer he remains on the fringes at United, the more testing the route to the summit of the sport will be.