1 week Ago By Robin Mumford
Manchester United fans have cast a clear verdict on Patrick Dorgu following his performance in the Manchester derby on Sunday afternoon, and like many new signings to be unveiled at Old Trafford in recent years, it's not good. The Danish left-back was signed for £25 million from Lecce just two months ago. On his Premier League debut against Ipswich Town - the first game of the Ruben Amorim era - the 20-year-old was sent off in the first half.
He has since gone on to make eight appearances for the club across all competitions this season, but he is still no closer to making himself at home in M16, as evidenced by his new supporters' views on him. Under the Glazers, and now with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS group at the helm, United have consistently faltered in the transfer market. Every dip into the talent pool seems to come up short, and while it may still be early days, Dorgu is already beginning to look like another addition to that long list of underwhelming acquisitions.
The ex-United legend insisted the team were missing something vital. Patrick Dorgu's Performance Against Manchester City Left-back has been a longstanding issue for Man United. While Luke Shaw is one of the best in the business when he's fit , he's very rarely available, while Diogo Dalot has proven to be far less effective when shoehorned onto the opposite flank to cover for the Englishman.
In Sunday’s dull 0-0 draw against Manchester City , Patrick Dorgu failed to make a convincing case to halt United’s potential search for reinforcements in that position. Over the course of 90 minutes, he completed just one of three cross attempts, surrendered possession 12 times, and registered only four entries into the final third. While his passing was accurate and his defensive work solid, the performance lacked spark, especially for a club once accustomed to signings who hit the ground running.
See his match statistics below: To be fair, Dorgu's numbers aren’t awful. But United fans have been desperate for a new signing who can make an immediate impact. It’s been years since the club brought in a player who didn't need development or a lenient grace period, and as a result, any young prospect trying to establish themselves at Old Trafford is bound to face intense - and often unfair - scrutiny.
That pressure doesn’t come from their performances alone, but from the weight of past disappointments and the lingering frustrations with the club’s ownership and recruitment strategy. Dorgu's Man United Future is Already Being Questioned Despite being so early into his Premier League career, and thus perhaps needing more time to settle into his new surroundings, the mortals of Man United fear Dorgu simply isn't good enough to be playing for a team with the desire of returning to the pinnacle of English football. Following his Manchester derby cameo, fans flocked to social media to criticise the defender.
"Dorgu is simply just not good enough. It’s so sad," one user said on X. While another added: "Dorgu’s end product has been atrocious.
He regularly gets himself into promising positions, often picked out by Bruno, but squanders almost every opportunity. It’s been pretty disappointing, to be honest." A third, none other than former Lioness and lifelong United supporter Lianne Sanderson, also remarked: "I’m sorry, but Dorgu is another really poor signing.
Like what do these people see? Our recruitment and scouting for the past 10 years has been woeful and that’s being polite." A fourth piece of criticism read: "I feel bad for Dorgu. He isn’t ready for this level technically, unfortunately," a fifth read: "It's not cussing or even being hypercritical to say Dorgu is just nowhere near ready to play at this level man," while a sixth user concluded: "Only early and he is young, but I don’t really see anything special about Dorgu.
" As some have noted, Dorgu is still very young. But at the moment, there may be no tougher environment to develop in than Old Trafford - a place where countless promising talents have faded into obscurity. With United sitting 13th in the league, Dorgu will be hoping to show his value between now and the season's end, as Amorim looks to salvage something from the campaign with a strong Europa League run, beginning with a quarter-final clash against Lyon this week.
All statistics courtesy of Sofascore (correct as of 07/04/2025).
