Paul Merson says his “worry” about Patrick Dorgu is that it seems like Manchester United has an easy time acquiring the Lecce full-back this winter because of Italy’s top clubs.
Over the next several days, United is anticipated to make an announcement regarding the arrival of Dorgu, a 20-year-old wing-back who is highly regarded and likely to be the first player signed under Ruben Amorim.
The Denmark international came to Manchester this morning to have a medical after United finalised a deal with Lecce worth around £29 million after their initial proposal for Dorgu was rejected.
Due in part to Luke Shaw’s injury issues over the past several seasons, which have prompted Diogo Dalot to move sides, the Red Devils made the left side of Amorim’s defence a top priority going into the January transfer window.
United is certain that Dorgu’s profile fits Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 formation and that the young player is a far more affordable option than players like Nuno Mendes and Milos Kerkez.
Merson, a former Arsenal and England midfielder, thinks United supporters should be concerned about the “big boys” in Serie A’s seeming lack of interest in Dorgu.
“You know what?” I’m always one of those people. I always think, “If Inter Milan, Juventus, Napoli, and AC Milan aren’t coming for you,” when someone succeeds in Italy. “Sky Sports News,” Merson stated.
Merson responded, “Just Napoli,” when informed that Napoli had been connected to Dorgu.
And I simply think it’s weird that they [Inter Milan, Juventus, and AC Milan] have been watching him every week for the past year or so.
“I find that odd, and I’m not sure why.”
“We’ve seen it with Hojlund. Hojlund came for a lot of money and the big boys didn’t go in for him in Italy and look what’s happened,” Merson said, citing Rasmus Hojlund as an example. “He [Hojlund] hasn’t scored a lot of goals and they probably saw that he was too young at the time.” “That would be my only worry [with Dorgu], but he can’t do any worse.”
Following his team’s 3-1 loss to Parma on Friday, Lecce manager Marco Giampaolo stated that Dorgu’s transfer to United was inevitable.
Shortly after Dorgu was spotted bidding farewell to Lecce fans, he informed reporters, “I believe Dorgu will be in Manchester tomorrow.”
A wonderful youngster, he devoted himself fully to us. You have this chance at the age of 20, but perhaps you have other ideas. I didn’t think it was appropriate to force him to play for Lecce or for himself.
“I considered using him if I needed him, but the temptation was fleeting.”
Before the January transfer deadline, United is still looking for attacking reinforcements, and Mathys Tel of Bayern Munich, who turned down Tottenham last week, has surfaced as a potential target.
Since Aston Villa is now the front-runner to sign the out-of-favor England forward, Marcus Rashford is anticipated to go in the other direction.
Since Rashford hinted in December that he was looking for a “new challenge,” teams like AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, and West Ham have also reportedly expressed interest in him.
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