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What's the rumour?
With the transfer window closing in a matter of hours, Europe's big guns are on the move. After having sold Emerson Palmieri to Chelsea, AS Roma have zeroed in on 27-year-old Manchester United full-back Daley Blind as the ideal candidate to replace him - at least in the short term - as per reports in The Daily Mail.
The Dutchman has played in all of Manchester United's UEFA Champions League matches this season - and hence will be ineligible for the Romans in that competition if he does make the switch.
In case you didn't know...
Blind has, though, played just 273 minutes of Premier League football with Ashley Young and Luke Shaw preferred at left-back, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, and Phil Jones all ahead of him in the pecking order when it comes to playing Left Centre Back and Nemanja Matic - and even Scott McTominay - preferred in the holding midfield role.
The heart of the matter
It's unlikely that Blind will become a regular starter soon - and although Jose Mourinho values the versatility of the Dutchman - Roma's continued interest (as per the same reports, the Italians were interested in him during the summer window as well) could sway the player's mind and in turn convince United to let go of him.
Rumour probability/reliability
7/10
Roma need someone to replace Emerson - and while Blind is not a natural like-for-like replacement, he is much more defensively solid than Aleksander Kolarov and his defensive discipline would appeal to Eusebio di Francesco.
And while Jose Mourinho would never like to see a player go, he has (by his previous track record) rarely stood in the way of fringe players making a move that they feel is better for their career
Video
Here are Daley Blind's best bits
Author's take
As per our resident Italian football expert Sunaadh Sagar, the Italian likes his left-back to stay put while his right-back roars forward - and Blind, an excellent reader of the game, would certainly be a perfect fit for that. This, therefore, has all the makings of a win-win deal for all involved.
