Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu looks like he’s getting his perfect wish at Manchester United this season after a mixed first campaign with the club.
Manchester United signed Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu from Leece earlier this year to bolster the wing-back position in Ruben Amorim’s squad.
The 20-year-old had a positive start at Old Trafford before falling into some poor form. Though, he managed to end the 2024/25 campaign as one of United’s better players.
Dorgu has carried that form into pre-season and the Dane has looked like one of Ruben Amorim’s best players in the opening friendly games this summer.
Many fans are expecting a big season from the wide player and it seems like he’s finally getting his perfect wish at Old Trafford now too.
Dorgu is getting his perfect wish at United this season
When Dorgu came into the club, he was played at left-wingback and most of the time he had Alejandro Garnacho ahead of him in the left-sided no.10 role.
The two young talents could not build any sort of relationship on that left flank regardless of how many games they played together. Garnacho would regularly miss Dorgu’s overlapping runs while the defender struggled to link play with the Argentine.
After the signing of Matheus Cunha was made, Dorgu made it clear that he wanted to build a positive relationship with him. “[It is important] to build the connections with the new players that are coming in,” he said after facing Leeds earlier this month.
While it is still early days, the latest game against West Ham showed that Cunha will be able to help Dorgu on that flank much more than Garnacho did. The pair linked up well and seemed to be on the same wavelength in regard to their movements.
His biggest problem during last season was the lack of connection with players around him, which led to misunderstandings with runs and passes. But it seems like it could now be the thing which helps him have a successful campaign.
What Cunha helps Dorgu with
It isn’t too much of a surprise to think that Cunha will build that sort of relationship with Dorgu. The Brazilian formed an excellent partnership with Rayan Aït-Nouri at Wolves.
There are two main aspects that allow Cunha to help these wide players, with the first being his comfortability playing inside the pitch. The danger he presents in the half-spaces attracts opposition players and then seems to make space out wide.
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But then more importantly, the 26-year-old has a good understanding of when to play the ball on the overlap or in behind the defence for a wingback. He is less predictable than Garnacho was with the ball at his feet.
Those two things give Cunha a much better chance of helping the wingback on his side, and it seems like something that Dorgu will appreciate and take advantage of heading into this season.
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