According to a report by Manchester Evening News, Manchester United have told Diogo Dalot to return to pre-season training from his loan spell at AC Milan. I Rossoneri are interested in re-signing the full-back on another loan spell, but the Red Devils have made it clear that they do not want to negotiate.
Dalot signed for Milan on a season-loan deal last summer and is entering the last few days of his spell at the Serie A side. Dalot, who was signed from FC Porto in the summer of 2018, has not really made his mark as a first-team player. But here we find out why United would be wise to use him next season, especially when the current situation is taken into account.
Manchester United are clearly keen on a right-back. This is proven by their interest in Atletico Madrid full-back, Kieran Tripper. But according to ESPN, the £30million+ price tag is deterring United from signing the 30-year-old as they don’t have faith in his sell-on value.
And that makes sense considering they already have a £50million right-back in Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the club. With the Red Devils struggling in their pursuit for Trippier, they sold Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who was played by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at right-back last year, for £1.5million to Bayer Leverkusen.
Add to that the fact that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not have a natural right-back available to compete with Aaron Wan-Bissaka. On the other flank, United have Luke Shaw and Alex Telles competing for starts. This is the kind of competition that the Premier League side must have in other positions as well.
The 20-year-old Brandon Williams is too young to be thrown into the shark tank. While he has played a lot of games for the senior team in the past, Solskjaer’s faith in him has dwindled. That is shown in this season’s numbers, with Williams playing just 186 minutes of league football. Moreover, he has majorly played at left-back in his short career.
In this regard, the club do not really need to look elsewhere. Granted, Kieran Trippier is a quality player with experience at Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico and the English national team. But if the price tag for him puts off United, they don’t need to look further than the 22-year-old Dalot.
The aforementioned report by ESPN mentions that Max Aarons of Norwich City is an alternative. But if United do not intend to negotiate a deal for Dalot, then any other deal for a new right-back does not seem wise.
Dalot is highly versatile and can play on either flank but featured majorly at right-back for AC Milan this past season. And if the Italian side want him back on loan, it is evident that he impressed them in some way. Dalot, who has prominently played on the right flank for the majority of his career, can plug that hole at United.
While he might not be at a stage to displace Wan-Bissaka from the starting line-up completely, he can prove to be a very able backup. Maybe then, Solskjaer would not have to play centre-backs at right-back when the Englishman is unavailable for selection, as he had to do this season.
