Patrick Dorgu: Plan for Man Utd’s €35m arrival revealed

Patrick Dorgu is expected to arrive in England on Saturday morning for his Manchester United medical before taking a trip to the club’s training ground to complete his €35m (£29.3m) transfer.

The Danish full-back was surprisingly named in Lecce’s squad for their crucial Serie A clash with Parma on Friday night. Dorgu was an unused substitute, watching on as his teammates came from behind to secure a pivotal away win against their relegation rivals.

At the end of what will almost certainly be his last Lecce match, Dorgu applauded the travelling fans.

“It’s true,” Lecce boss Marco Giampaolo revealed on Friday. “Patrick Dorgu will be flying to Manchester on Saturday. He’s a fantastic player and guy. He always did his best for us. I didn’t play him tonight as his mind could be already there, Old Trafford…”

United and Lecce went back and forth on the final fee for the versatile 20-year-old. After holding firm on their valuation, the Serie A strugglers eventually struck an agreement initially worth £25.1m, plus a further £4.2m in performance-related add-ons.

Ruben Amorim has been pushing for defensive reinforcements to suit his 3-4-3 system this month. While Dorgu has been billed as the solution to United’s left wing-back berth, the Denmark international has only started one game in that position this season, lining up on both sides of a back-four and even as a right winger on occasion.

Nevertheless, Dorgu has more chance of making an immediate impact than the injury-stricken Luke Shaw. United’s first-choice left-back returned to training this week, but Amorim warned that “it will take a little bit more time” before he is thrust back into the starting XI.

“I think he needs to train more, to spend more time with his teammates playing normal or small-sided games, not just working alone,” the Portuguese boss explained on Friday. “When I feel it is the right moment, he will get minutes in the games.”