It would be fair to say that the last 18 months or so have been rather testing for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United.
Even with two trophies under his belt, the questions around his suitability remain as prevalent as ever following his side’s underwhelming start to the Premier League season, which has seen them pick up just seven points from a possible 15.
Moreover, while Marcus Rashford is showing signs of improvement this year, club captain Bruno Fernandes has been well off the pace.
However, while the Dutchman has received plenty of criticism for his mistakes in the dugout, he has improved some players, including one who was in line to be sold under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure.
Diogo Dalot's early United career
Yes, the player in question is Portuguese international Diogo Dalot, who first joined United from FC Porto in June 2018 for around £19m.
His first season in England wasn’t quite what he had hoped for, though. Two injuries saw him miss 16 games, and when he was fit, he only got minor cameos here and there for the first team, amounting to a total of 1527 minutes across 23 appearances.
Unfortunately for the promising full-back, his second season in Manchester was even worse. A hip injury, a knock, and a groin injury saw him sidelined for 132 days and miss 35 games, leading fans and pundits alike to speculate about whether he had a future at the club at all.
In fact, according to an article from The Athletic published at the start of his third season, the Braga-born ace was no longer in Solskjaer’s plans, and the club was open to offers for his services.
This would explain why they were happy to send him out on loan to Serie A giants AC Milan for the 20/21 campaign, where he made 33 appearances, scored two goals, provided three assists, and remained relatively fit.
His time in Italy was something of a turning point. The following season saw him make 30 appearances for the Red Devils, and then, with Ten Hag at the helm, he became a permanent fixture in the first team the following season, making 42 appearances and finally showing the league just how talented he really is.
Dalot's superb season
With his place now firmly established in the team, Dalot took yet another step forward under Ten Hag last season and emerged from what was a disappointing campaign for the club overall as perhaps one of the few players whose stock had risen.
In all, the Red Devils’ “standout player,” as journalist Liam Canning dubbed him, made 50 appearances, totalling a whopping 4364 minutes of football, in which he scored three goals and provided five assists, three of which came in the club’s successful run to FA Cup glory.
In recognition of his incredible displays in what was a challenging year, the 25-year-old won the United Players’ Player of the Season Award for the first time.
Appearances
36
6
2
6
Goals
2
1
0
0
Assists
3
3
0
0
Goal Involvements per Match
0.13
0.50
0.00
0.00
Lastly, in addition to performing on the pitch, the 24-cap international has also proved to be a wise investment off it, as his valuation has skyrocketed to about €47m, per Football Transfers, which converts to around £39m, or a 105% increase on the fee United paid for him.
Ultimately, Dalot is a brilliant case study of why clubs should stick by talented players who are either going through a run of poor form or injury problems, as they might come through the other side as one of the most critical players in the team.
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