Roma in talks with Manchester United to sign outcast defender

Roma are in talks with Manchester United about signing Daley Blind before Wednesday’s transfer deadline, claims Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Serie A giants are on the verge of selling Emerson Palmieri to Chelsea in a deal worth an initial £17.5m and now want to sign a replacement.

Roma have seemingly earmarked Blind as their top transfer target and are now in talks about concluding a swift deal for the versatile Netherlands international.

Blind, who is currently struggling with an ankle injury, has dropped completely out of favour under Jose Mourinho this season and does not feature in his long-term plans.

The 27-year-old has only managed 274 minutes of playing time in the Premier League this season but did feature in every minute of their Champions League group stage.

Nevertheless, Blind has only featured in four of United’s last 13 matches in all competitions and Roma are hopeful of reaching an agreement in the coming hours.

Under Mourinho, United have a marginally better win ratio in the Premier League without Blind starting (56.4%) compared to when he hasn’t featured from the off (52.2%).