Diogo Dalot has overcome the biggest problem he arrived at Man Utd with, now he can reach another level

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After a poor 2023/24 season and 58 goals conceded the Manchester United backline is under a lot of scrutiny.

Every player is under analysis to see how issues can be solved and so that the team can start competing in the title race.

One defender who made a leap in 2023/24 was Diogo Dalot, who enjoyed his best season to date, voted as the player’s player of the season.

READ: Jadon Sancho needs to prove three things to Man Utd supporters, Erik ten Hag has a theory on one of them

Dependable Dalot

In a season where injuries blighted the squad Diogo Dalot was a near ever-present in the team with 3,174 minutes played in the league. He was the United player with the second most minutes in the league with only Andre Onana playing more than the right back.

Dalot also made some contributions in attack with two goals and three assists, but the importance of the player was his ability to be a leader at the back when other players were in and out of the side.

The club look to have their sights on recruiting a new right back, but Diogo Dalot may also have made a case to trust in him.

Dalot fitness record

At the start of Dalot’s career at Manchester United he arrived at the club with a meniscus injury. This undoubtedly caused many issues that plagued the players first few seasons.

From 2017/18 to 2019/20 Diogo Dalot lost 306 days to injury and a huge 58 games were missed. This collection of various injuries were soon after the meniscus and related to the extended period he had out. The young right back was struggling to get back to full fitness after this big injury.

But since then, he has had an excellent availability rate. In the four seasons since, he has lost just 22 days to injury, only missing six matches in the 2022/23 season.

Dalot’s consistent form

Looking at his data it is hard to pinpoint where Diogo Dalot has made improvements. This is in part because of his output not looking like it has increased.

The numbers below illustrate that the player had high potential a few seasons ago, but that in his most recent campaign his numbers were some of the lowest of his career.

Dalot’s data seems to suggest that 2021/22 was his best season for the club, immediately after he rectified his injury issues. Some of his data was the best in Europe, especially his impressive pressing numbers with lots of tackles won and tackles won high up the pitch in the attacking third.

He was also very creative in the games that season with lots of passes into dangerous areas – but it was a more limited sample size.

But context must be given to this season and his less impressive output. Diogo Dalot was the mainstay in a defence that was really struggling. Throughout the campaign there were makeshift backlines as Manchester United had huge injury issues.

The data seems to suggest that there is a very good player that can fit Erik ten Hag’s style, but that the fortunes of the club have been affecting him. He may not be up to the elite profile that the club is looking for, but he certainly has the capability to be able to be an important squad player.

Diogo Dalot may have the opportunity to showcase his best in the season ahead as the team looks to be shaping up to best use his assets.

In previous seasons he has shown some of the qualities that Erik ten Hag looks for in a defender. He is also incredibly reliable with a great availability rate in his last four seasons.

The only issue is that he may be just short of that star quality that the manager is looking for, but Dalot has already shown he can prove his doubters wrong. Don’t rule out another leap forward.