Patrick Dorgu isn’t a problem for Man United, he’s a Prospect | OneFootball

Patrick Dorgu is 21 years old. Still young by any measure, yet if you scroll through certain corners of Man United Twitter, you’d think he was a 27-year-old veteran failing to live up to expectations. The Danish full-back, signed from Lecce in February 2025, has been at the club for almost a year now and already he’s become a lightning rod for frustration amongst some of the Man United faithful.

Man United fans are, understandably, impatient. They’ve seen years of questionable recruitment, constant rebuilds, and false dawns. So when a new left-back arrives for around £25m, there’s this instant demand for him to be ready-made, to fix the position immediately.

The problem is, Patrick Dorgu was never signed for that.

He was signed because he’s one of the most promising young defenders in Europe. A player with athleticism, confidence on the ball, and raw potential. But that word, potential, seems to get lost in the noise of fan ire.

The reality of adapting to a new league

Moving from Serie A to the Premier League is tough for any young player. The tempo is quicker, the space closes faster, and even the weaker teams press with aggression. For Dorgu, this isn’t his first move abroad either. Before joining Lecce, he was part of Nordsjælland’s academy in Denmark, meaning he’s already experienced the challenge of adapting to a new country and culture once before. But England is another level entirely. The intensity, the media scrutiny, the constant comparisons, they all add up.

Even some of the biggest names have struggled with the switch. Romelu Lukaku went from one of the most feared strikers in Europe at Inter to a complete misfit on his return to England. Tijjani Reijnders, brilliant at Milan, has been decent at City but nowhere near the player he was in Serie A. Paul Pogba couldn’t replicate his Juventus form at United. Matthijs de Ligt needed a full season before he found his feet.

Rasmus Hojlund’s second season was a disaster, so poor in fact that United forced him out to Napoli on an obligation to buy. And Andre Onana, once viewed as one of the world’s best goalkeepers, looked out of his depth, even against Grimsby, which led to the club loaning him to Trabzonspor after the window closed without any buy option or obligation. If established internationals with experience and confidence can find it that hard in the Premier League, what chance does a 21-year-old defender have of breezing through it?

Patrick Dorgu’s first few appearances showed flashes of his potential, bursts forward, a willingness to take on a man, but he also showed mistakes. There were moments of hesitation, times where he was caught out of position. But you know what? That’s normal.

Yet some fans don’t want normal. They want an upgrade on Luke Shaw. They’ve grown tired of Shaw’s constant injury problems and inconsistency, and when Dorgu arrived, many believed the pundits who said he was “the real deal” and “ready-made” to slot straight into Amorim’s system.

In truth, that was never who he was at Lecce. He was versatile, yes, but also raw. He played as a left-back, wing-back, left-sided midfielder, and even filled in on the right wing at times.

He was signed to be a wing-back in Amorim’s system, one of the most demanding roles on the pitch, especially in Amorim’s style of play. Where the wing backs require constant running, tactical discipline, and precision in both attack and defence. Man United saw in him the fundamentals for it, his running power, work rate, off-the-ball awareness, and the potential to grow into a complete modern wing-back. He wasn’t someone who Amorim hand picked, but someone that the analysts, the scouts all saw as someone who was flexible and skilled enough to play for Man United long term.

A fanbase divided by frustration

There’s a toxic impatience around Man United at the moment.

Every new signing becomes either the saviour or the scapegoat. There’s no middle ground. Alejandro Garnacho went through it after flourishing early on, but his relationship with the fanbase completely collapsed.

He was so frustrated that he allegedly started leaking lineups through his brother and reportedly told the club he’d refuse to play for a year if they blocked his move to Chelsea. In the end, he got what he wanted.

Good riddance, really.

He was terminally online and his ego always seemed to get in the way. He might have dreamed of being the next Ronaldo, but right now he looks far more likely to end up as a Nani-level player, if he’s lucky.

Rasmus Hojlund went through it too. Now it’s Patrick Dorgu’s turn. And when you step back, it’s a bit ridiculous. Perhaps I’m being too kind to only say a bit.

You can’t buy a 21-year-old from Italy, expect him to instantly adapt to English football, and then slate him when he looks raw. That’s what development looks like, messy, inconsistent, and full of lessons. But at the theatre of dreams, if you don’t instantly show you’re ready it becomes a nightmare.

Dorgu has already made 29 appearances for Man United since arriving, and that in itself says something about how trusted he is despite the growing pains.

I’ll admit it… I was frustrated too

The deflation only really hit in the summer after he signed, when I saw Ait Nouri go to Man City and Milos Kerkez join Liverpool for around £40m each. Both deals felt like statements at the time, and it was hard not to think United had missed a trick given their fees.

But football has a funny way of humbling everyone. Only a few months later, both have struggled. City fans are already questioning Ait Nouri’s defensive awareness, calling him a downgrade on Gvardiol.

One tweet even said, “Sorry but Ait Nouri should’ve stayed at Wolves, he’s not a top left back at all,” while another bluntly put, “Ait Nouri is so bad.”

Over at Liverpool, the mood isn’t any better. Fans have completely turned on Milos Kerkez, with one tweet reading, “Whoever signed Kerkez definitely watched the same highlights reel as us and zero extensive scouting was done, he’s useless,” and another saying, “thought Kerkez was an insane defender turns out he’s just insane.” These comments show just how unforgiving fanbases can be when new signings don’t meet instant expectations.

It’s a reminder that even talented full-backs in their early twenties take time to settle. Different system, different expectations, different pressures.

What Dorgu really offers

What’s easy to miss amid the noise is what Dorgu actually brings. His physicality jumps out straight away, he’s strong, aggressive in duels, and covers ground quickly. The data backs that up too. According to DataMB, no full-back in Europe’s top five leagues has won more offensive duels this season than Dorgu. He also ranks first among Premier League full-backs for key passes, touches in the box, fouls suffered, duels per 90, and chance creation ratio. That’s elite output for a 21-year-old still learning his craft.

Another dataset from DataMB lists him as the third-best under-23 full-back in Europe’s top seven leagues for chance creation ratio, behind only T. Louchet and K. Ouattara. FC Mossman’s analytics also identify Dorgu as one of the top wing-back profiles in Europe for carrying and dueling, putting him in the same bracket as players considered ready for the big time.

You can see why United’s scouts pushed for him. There’s a confidence when he drives forward, a willingness to play progressive passes, and a desire to constantly affect the game in the final third.

He’s not perfect, not yet. His positioning needs work, his decision-making under pressure can improve, and he’s still learning how to handle Premier League wingers who play at a speed he’s never faced before. What stands out, though, is how often he finds himself in good shooting positions because of his clever movement. With a bit more composure in front of goal, he could easily add goals to his game, and that will come naturally with experience and exposure.

Patience isn’t weakness

Sir Alex Ferguson always preached patience when it came to developing players. He used Jesse Lingard as an example of why the club needed to trust the process, famously saying that Lingard would be a late bloomer and that United had to give him time. Ferguson was proven right.

Lingard didn’t properly establish himself in the first team until his early twenties, years after some fans had written him off. And when his time came, he delivered, scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final and becoming a valuable squad player for several seasons. He was never world class, but he embodied what patience could produce.

Darren Fletcher followed a similar path, going from being doubted by supporters to becoming one of the most reliable midfielders in Premier League history. There’s a clear lesson there, players need time to grow. Nowadays, they’re torn apart before they ever get the chance to become the finished product.

At other clubs, players are given that time. They’re allowed to learn through mistakes, build confidence, and grow without the constant pressure of instant success. But at Man United, that patience has vanished. The standards dropped, the team declined, and in that frustration, fans lost the ability to wait. Every young player is expected to perform like a seasoned pro, and when they don’t, the criticism comes fast.

Patrick Dorgu doesn’t need to be flawless right now. He needs support, coaching, and space to grow. The irony is that the same fans calling him “a waste of money” might be the ones cheering his name in a year’s time when he finds his feet.

So maybe it’s time to stop treating Dorgu like a problem and start seeing him for what he is, a prospect with potential, one who might just prove a few people wrong in the long run.