Michael Carrick's New Signing: Unlocking Patrick Dorgu at Left-Back
Manchester United spent deadline day chasing full-backs and finished it with none. No Alejandro Balde. No Rayan Aït-Nouri. Just one recognised left-back in Luke Shaw and a manager quietly eyeing a solution already in his dressing room.
Patrick Dorgu.
To most, he is the lively winger who caught the eye at Lecce and has flickered in flashes under Carrick. To his manager, he is something else entirely.
“You could almost argue that he played three or four times for us last season,” Carrick said. “So for me, he's almost like a new player… it's almost like a new signing in some ways because he's added so much to the group.”
That line was not throwaway. It sounded like a hint.
From Lecce’s left-back to Carrick’s wildcard
United paid £25million to take Dorgu from Serie A in January 2025, signing a 21-year-old who had been learning the trade as a left-back at Lecce. Ruben Amorim had already experimented with him as a wing-back, pushing him higher, asking him to stretch the game. Carrick has gone even further, using him exclusively as a winger so far.
Four starts under Carrick, then a long, frustrating spell out with a hamstring injury. He began this season on the left flank at Hull City, then dropped to the bench for the win over Ipswich. A reminder that in this squad, the wide positions are crowded and unforgiving.
On the wings, he is one of many. At left-back, he might be the answer.
A gap opens up
The transfer window closed on Tuesday night with United still short. The late pushes for Balde and Aït-Nouri came to nothing, leaving Shaw as the only natural left-back in the squad.
Behind him is a patchwork of possibilities. Noussair Mazraoui can shuffle across. Diogo Dalot can fill in. None of them are specialists. All of them are compromises.
Then there is Dorgu.
“He can certainly play there. He has done, without doubt,” Carrick said. “I'm not sitting here saying he can't do that. It's just the way we've been since I've been here.”
The implication is clear. United have not needed to use him there yet. That might be about to change.
Versatility as a weapon
Dorgu’s international career with Denmark has already underlined his flexibility. He has featured on the right wing, cutting inside, and scored a superb goal from that side during the June internationals. Left wing for his club, right wing for his country, left-back in Italy – he has covered almost every lane down that flank.
“He's played off the right for Denmark, scored a great goal in the summer playing off the right in a forward position,” Carrick said. “He can play left-back. He's that type where he can do a number of things. I'm certainly not saying he can't do that at all.”
The coaching staff have seen it up close.
“There are times in training when he does it,” Carrick added. “At some point, we might have to, at some point he might do that. He can do that, absolutely no problem.”
That last line felt less like a possibility and more like a promise.
A young player, a big opportunity
Dorgu is 21, raw, and still learning the rhythm of elite football. The attributes are obvious: energy, athleticism, a willingness to drive forward and commit defenders. Those same traits can make him a modern full-back – one who pushes high, overlaps, and gives United the width they lose when Shaw is absent.
“And then he's only young, being such a young age and having the attributes that he's got, we've just got to keep trying to get the most out of him,” Carrick said.
The circumstances might help with that. United’s failure to land a back-up left-back has created a vacancy no coach wants but every ambitious player should relish. If Shaw breaks down or needs a rest, Carrick will have a choice: reshuffle established defenders out of position, or trust the Dane who has quietly been preparing for this moment.
For Dorgu, the path is suddenly clear. The question now is whether he steps into it as a winger who fills in, or as the “new signing” who solves a problem United could not fix in the market.
