Manchester United are still chasing a deal for Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu but he didn’t have his best evening on Sunday.
The January transfer window is now entering its final week and Manchester United are still hopeful of completing some business.
Antony’s move to Real Betis has been confirmed and United will look to bring in a new face following Sunday’s win at Fulham.
United have held talks to sign Patrick Dorgu but have yet to strike a deal for the Lecce wing back.
Dorgu is viewed as the ideal profile to play as a left wing back in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 setup with Diogo Dalot not exactly natural in that role.
The Dane is a top young talent and United will ultimately hope to agree a deal with Lecce sooner rather than later to avoid deadline day drama.
Italian media on Patrick Dorgu display
Reports suggest that United are planning a third bid for Dorgu having so far failed with offers of £23million and £28million.
Lecce are standing firm but may hope that United scouts weren’t watching their game on Sunday.
Lecce were hammered 4-0 at home by Inter Milan on Sunday, leaving them just outside of the relegation zone.
Tuttomercatoweb were not impressed and gave Dorgu a 4.5 rating out of 10 for his display against Inter.
This was Dorgu’s first appearance since the United rumours started to ramp up and his display didn’t quite go to plan.
TMW suggested that whilst United want to sign him, Lecce’s leverage hasn’t been helped by Sunday’s display.
They also suggested that Dorgu made ‘one mistake after another’, including giving the ball away inside his own half for Lautaro Martinez’s goal.
“United want to take him to the Premier League, this unfortunate evening is not the best spot to sell him. He pushes, but in the back he makes one mistake after another: the one on the Nerazzurri’s second goal was a serious one,” they wrote.
Lecce chief on Dorgu to Manchester United
The reality is that this was just one game and United shouldn’t be deterred from moving for Dorgu just because of a poor showing against one of the top sides in Europe.
Dorgu is only 20 and he needs time to develop; United would be paying for potential in any deal.
Lecce are still standing firm though and president Saverio Sticchi Damiani has been quoted by Tutto Mercato Web as saying that he wants to keep Dorgu.
Speaking before facing Inter, Sticchi Damiani suggested that he wants to remain true to the promise not to weaken the Lecce squad.
Sticchi Damiani admitted that Dorgu has been ‘disoriented’ amid speculation over his future, but Lecce want to try and keep him.
“We made a choice against the grain, to be consistent with what we previously told our fans to keep the squad unchanged,” said Sticchi Damiani.
“The boy was a bit disoriented last week, but this week he was on point. There’s been too much talk about him. We’ll try to resist, as long as this makes sense. Faced with things bigger than us, we’ll have to evaluate what will be best for the club,” he added.
United now have just a week left to get this deal done and tough talks with Lecce will now follow in the coming days.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
