Why Man Utd hijacking deal to sign £51m star could be bad news for Dorgu

He is an enigma, ol’ Patrick Dorgu, isn’t he? The Manchester United youngster is now 18 months into his Old Trafford career, and yet no one is quite sure what his best position is.

Signed to be a left-wing back under Ruben Amorim, the Dane actually debuted on the right against Leicester City in the FA Cup last year, one of the many baffling moves of the Portuguese’s tenure.

Fast forward to the early weeks of Michael Carrick’s caretaker reign, and the 21-year-old was being utilised as an outright left-winger, ahead of Matheus Cunha, catching the eye against both Manchester City and Arsenal before injury struck.

Based on his brief time under Carrick so far, as well as recent pre-season outings, Dorgu’s future may well lie in that advanced role – but should it?

How Dorgu performed against Atletico Madrid on Saturday

The former Lecce man memorably guided in Cunha’s cross to seal the derby win in January, before rifling in that thumping effort away at the Emirates to bolster his growing cult status.

He’d also shown his attacking credentials by supplying an inch-perfect cross to Benjamin Sesko in the 2-2 draw at Turf Moor prior to that, thriving as an old-fashioned left-footer on that left-hand side.

And yet, with Marcus Rashford back in the building, and with Tynan Thompson signing from Tottenham Hotspur, it remains to be seen if Dorgu will stay where he is, or be nudged back into left-back when the new season rolls around.

On the evidence of Saturday’s friendly win over Atletico Madrid, he’s still far from the finished article as a winger, having produced a frustrating display against the LaLiga side.

Now, it wouldn’t be wise to read too much into pre-season, yet the £30m man did appear rather sluggish, with much of United’s threat coming from the other side via Amad and Shea Lacey.

That pair were bright and dynamic, yet Dorgu struggled for any sort of impact, failing to register a single shot, cross, successful dribble or key pass, making just 28 touches in 73 minutes on the field.

He did win seven of his 11 attempted ground duels, yet perhaps that only gives further credence to the idea that he should be deployed at left-back instead.

Indeed, Dorgu’s hopes of remaining as a left-winger may well be dashed if another new arrival is snapped up before the deadline.

Man Utd’s search for a new left-winger goes on

INEOS are clearly in the market for a new wideman, as seen in their prior interest in Dutch speedster, Crysencio Summerville, the ex-West Ham United star since moving to Saudi side Al Hilal.

Much of the focus for Jason Wilcox and co in recent times has been on signing Premier League-proven options like Summerville, although the club could also look further afield for reinforcements.

As per TEAMtalk, United could be in a position to hijack Paris Saint-Germain’s pursuit of Mika Godts, with a queue of English clubs also in the frame for the Ajax sensation.

The suggestion is that talks have been held regarding the 21-year-old through the summer, with the Red Devils being kept ‘informed’ about his situation.

The Eredivisie side are looking for a fee of around €60m (£51m) if they are to cash in this month, ensuring INEOS wouldn’t exactly have to break the bank if they were to ramp up their interest in the young Belgian.

It is said that the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested, and it’s easy to see why, with Godts fresh off the back of a stunning season in Amsterdam.

A right-footed left-winger, the youngster enjoyed a dazzling Eredivisie campaign, scoring 17 goals and registering a further 12 assists, alongside racking up 14 ‘big chances’ created.

Such a direct, creative asset, Godts also averaged a stellar 2.4 key passes per game, alongside an average of 2.7 successful dribbles per game. For context, the most anyone achieved at United in that latter metric was Cunha, with a 1.3 average.

The Eredivisie is a different kettle of fish to the Premier League, of course – just ask Antony – but the Belgian’s displays are hard not to be impressed by, particularly when stacked up next to Dorgu’s record.

In 2025/26, United’s number 13 scored four and assisted just four in the top flight, while creating only six ‘big chances’ and averaging just one key pass per game. In terms of successful dribbles too, Dorgu’s average stood at just 0.4 in that regard.

That not only speaks to the Dane’s struggles in a more advanced role, but also highlights why Godts would seemingly represent an upgrade as a more natural solution in that department.

Bringing the £51m-rated dynamo into the mix would surely spell bad news for Dorgu’s hopes of ever cementing that left-wing role for himself.

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