Manchester United wing-back Patrick Dorgu believes he has earned the “trust” of Ruben Amorim after a “difficult” start to life at Old Trafford this year.
Dorgu, 20, became the first “major signing” of Amorim’s tenure when the Denmark international was signed at the end of the January transfer window.
The deal – worth an initial £25 million, potentially rising to £29m – saw Dorgu swap Serie A minnows Lecce for United to provide a solution to the absence of a specialist option at left wing-back.
The Dane possesses outstanding physical attributes while retaining the technical skill and positional versatility to have played as a fullback, wing-back or a right-winger for the Italian club. The scope for rapid improvement at only 20 years of age is obvious as well, despite some early teething issues.
And despite the emergence of 18-year-old Harry Amass in Amorim’s first-team squad, as well as the arrival of Paraguayan starlet Diego Leon next month, Dorgu is “set to remain a starter on the left wing for United at the start of next season.”
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the wing-back acknowledged the difficulties in moving to a big club midway through a season.
“It’s been tough, challenging,” Dorgu admits. “But I’m happy I played a lot. I think the manager trusts me and I try to help the team, so I’m just happy to be on the pitch and I try to do my best.
“It’s a bit different from my old team but I was playing attacking there as well. I just need to adapt to the players and how everyone moves on the pitch. It’s obviously different (at United) because the fanbase is so massive. A lot of people talk! Everyone is talking about United.
“It is difficult for young players but I think if you have the right mentality I think everyone can cope with it and it’s about performing on the pitch.”
The wing-back position is a pivotal one within Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system with a host of different demands. They must operate as attackers in possession while retaining the ability to convert immediately into defenders if possession is lost.
It’s a role which requires high levels of physicality and stamina to effectively perform as the wing-backs must be difference makers in both halves of the pitch without sacrificing at either end.
It’s natural, therefore, that a youngster moving to England for the first time from a smaller side to join one of the world’s biggest clubs would take a while earn the “trust” of his new manager. But that’s exactly what Dorgu believes he has done.
Featured image Jan Kruger via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
