Patrick Dorgu had his best game as a Man Utd player on Boxing Day as he scored the winning goal in the 1-0 win against Newcastle at Old Trafford.
When Patrick Dorgu was racing around the Old Trafford pitch on Boxing Day, demanding the ball at every opportunity and determined to be involved in the game as often as possible, he didn’t look like the player Ruben Amorim had been talking about four weeks earlier.
At the end of November, Amorim discussed the pressure on Dorgu to perform and how it can consume young players at Manchester United. He is only 21 and yet to hit 40 appearances for the club, but doubts were beginning to form around the £25million January signing.
“He needs to be calmer playing the game,” Amorim said back then. “You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touches the ball. I can feel the anxiety. You remember the shot against Everton.
“That was easier than the decision he had to make [playing for Denmark] against Scotland. He made a great decision, and I saw it when he played in Italy. But here it is different, and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning, but he has time to improve.”
Sources close to the player insist he hadn’t been flustered by Amorim’s comments, retaining a sense of confidence that he had what it takes to succeed at United. His self-belief had grown from the January window last year, not just from signing for United, but also from being wanted by several clubs, with Antonio Conte also keen to sign him for eventual Serie A champions Napoli.
He has done extra training since being left out of the team following that defeat to Everton and feels that put him in a position to hit the ground running when his opportunity came around again.
On Boxing Day, Dorgu’s tally of 58 touches in the game was second only to Manuel Ugarte’s 63 for United and you could visibly sense his confidence growing after his stunning strike had given Amorim’s team the lead.
He joked that he didn’t know he could do that after the match, and as he watched the ball fall from the sky on the edge of the area, it would have been easy for him to think back to some wayward shots earlier in his United career. He had tried 30 shots without scoring, but it proved to be worth the wait.
It was interesting to listen to Amorim discuss Dorgu after the game and explain how his position as a right winger might have helped to free him up and ease the defensive nerves.
“Maybe the game today with a lot of transitions is good for his pace and ability to drive the ball,” said Amorim. “He played in a position where he can take more risk, that can help him not feel the responsibility.”
There is plenty of sense in that, although it wasn’t a one-off for Dorgu. Returning to the team as a left wing-back against Aston Villa, he produced one of his best displays in that position as well. His reading of the game and tenacity set up Matheus Cunha’s goal, and delivered an excellent cross, which created another big chance for the Brazilian.
When he joined from Lecce in January, director of football Jason Wilcox talked up Dorgu’s versatility and he can play on either flank, but if Amorim sticks with a 4-3-3 for now, then he could make the right-wing spot his own for a few weeks, with Amad and Bryan Mbeumo away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Maybe a run of games there, freed up of some responsibility, will help the Dane settle into life a little more at Old Trafford. He deserves credit for fighting back in the last two games after Amorim’s November comments and now has the chance to really kickstart his United career.
