Diogo Dalot’s future at the club has been questioned since the arrival of Crystal Palace full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, however, I believe the Portuguese youngster shouldn’t be too worried.
An article by the Evening Standard suggested Dalot should be worried about his future at the club given United have just spent £50 million on Wan-Bissaka. And whilst the article is right in saying the club haven’t spent that sort of money for a back-up to Dalot, there is still a place in this squad for him.
At 20, the former Porto defender has a bright future ahead of him. He needs to play matches of football if he wants to progress and fulfil that potential, though.
Assuming Ashley Young, whose performances declined towards the back-end of last season, is utilised sparingly. Dalot could see the majority of his appearances come in the domestic cup competitions and the Europa League.
It’s also worth noting that Wan-Bisakka is as equally inexperienced as Dalot. The former Palace defender played 46 times for the London-based club, only 15 more times than Dalot.
Who’s to say that Wan-Bissaka may not settle at United right away and finds it difficult to deliver consistently at the levels required. Dalot would have to be ready to step in.
The fact Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has two young and highly rated fullbacks at his disposal can only be viewed as a positive. Yes, it may be hard for Dalot to take, as last season under Mourinho he was billed as the clubs “right-back for 10 years”.
Nothing but hard work, waiting for the new season to kick off! ✅ @ManUtd 🔴⚫ pic.twitter.com/LsLrIJMc2X
— Diogo Dalot (@DalotDiogo) June 30, 2019
Dalot also impressed under Solskjaer too. He couldn’t quite deliver consistently enough at right-back to keep Young out of the side but he found himself being used further up field on the right-wing.
This is another option for the youngster. Daniel James and Jesse Lingard are players who would be eyeing up the right-wing position ahead of the new season, but Dalot could easily do a job there if the other two were absent.
Overall, there is no doubting that Ed Woodward and Solskjaer have spent £50 million on who they believe is going to be the clubs right-back for the next decade. However, Diogo Dalot was an investment and he remains that. He could develop into a really good right-back and compete with Wan-Bissaka for that decade too, or he could prosper elsewhere. Time will tell, but let’s hope at Manchester United.