It looks like Manchester United’s January window is finally about to kickstart with talks taking place for Lecce’s left-back, Patrick Dorgu.
Patrick Dorgu has flourished at relegation-threatened Lecce this season, and as a Danish international, would find familiar company at Old Trafford in Rasmus Hojlund and Christian Eriksen.
Dorgu is in line to become the first signing of the Ruben Amorim era, offering a hint at the type of player profile the Man Utd manager is looking for.
While the playing position only offers so much insight into it, Dorgu’s footballing idol offers a much better idea of the player Ruben Amorim likes for his wing-back spot.
Patrick Dorgu’s footballing idol
The main reason why Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system hasn’t been functioning properly is the lack of a dynamic wing-back on the left, with both his first-choice players for the position having one thing in common.
Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are right-footed so their tendency is to cut inside and slow the play down instead of bombing forward on the overlap.
Most importantly, Amorim has repeatedly stressed that in his setup, the wing-back is not in a defensive position. In fact, ideally, it’s the main outlet of the attack.
Dorgu, coincidentally, used to be a left-footed right-winger before he was repurposed into a flying left-back, the “reverse Gareth Bale”, if you will.
That change is reflected in his choice of footballing idol, with Dorgu admitting in an earlier interview with Tipsbladet that he looked up to Eden Hazard at Chelsea.
He said: “When I was young I was a striker and a winger, so my idol was Hazard. I really liked watching him when he played at Chelsea. Now it’s Alphonso Davies, Theo Hernandez, and yes, the very best full-backs in the world.”
Hazard dominated the Premier League at his peak, winning the Player of the Season award in 2014/15 and being in the PFA Team of the Year four times, three times consecutively!
His £88 million move to Real Madrid didn’t go according to plan but his legacy in England remains legendary.
Dorgu will add key thing missing from Man Utd
Dorgu has effectively had two footballing educations- an attacking one during his time in Denmark when he was a winger and a defensive one in Italy when he was turned into a left-back.
Therefore, Amorim will no longer have to compromise on what he wants from his left wing-back.
So far, he’s gone risk-averse by playing fullbacks there because the alternative was rolling the dice on someone like Alejandro Garnacho who regularly gets outmuscled off the ball.
In Dorgu, he’ll get a player who will play on his stronger foot for the overlap, has the defensive intensity of a fullback, and retains the attacking mentality of being a winger which is the perfect match for a wing-back.
A lack of dynamism has hindered that position under Amorim. Dorgu will bring that in spades.
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