Manchester United have backed Ruben Amorim heavily in the transfer market since his arrival from Sporting CP last season.
A brand-new front three was brought in this summer in Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. Goalkeeper Senne Lammens was signed on deadline day to contest for a starting place between the sticks.
Young full-back Diego Leon’s move was also finalised after being agreed in the winter, when Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu were brought to Old Trafford to strengthen Amorim’s backline with one eye on the future.
Dorgu solved a big problem
Amorim is famously wedded to his 3-4-2-1 system which requires specialist wing-backs to get up and down the flank and chip in to both defence and attack.
The United squad he inherited did not have obvious picks for this position, especially on the left, so INEOS set out in January to find a fix for this important role.
After much toing and froing, the club settled on Lecce’s Dorgu as the man to fill the hole and secured a €30m deal for the player.
The youngster had a big burden to shoulder and has made a strong start to life at Old Trafford. He is still noticeably raw, but has immense potential and is already performing better this season than in his maiden campaign.
United gazumped Napoli
While Dorgu’s name was unfamiliar to many fans before his arrival, the young Dane was hot property in Europe and particularly in Serie A.
Lecce’s Director of Football Pantaleo Corvino explained to Kiss Kiss Napoli, via TuttoMercato, that the player almost joined Napoli – who would go on to win the league.
Corvino said: “Dorgu was close to joining Napoli. Before Manchester United, we had several talks with a few clubs, but then the Red Devils presented us with the best option with a significant offer.
“His entourage also pushed us towards this high-profile team, but above all, the offer was such that Lecce couldn’t refuse it.”
As United concluded a historically bad season with a 15th-place Premier League finish, Dorgu could be forgiven for wondering what could have been had he joined the Serie A champions.
But the 20-year-old has knuckled down brilliantly and after an impressive pre-season looks to be a key figure for United this campaign.
His crosses into the box look tailor-made for the likes of Sesko, and there has already been some lovely link-up play with Cunha as Amorim’s new recruits start to bed in properly.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
