Mourinho was in charge of Manchester United when the club paid Porto £19m to sign Dalot in 2018. On the day of his arrival, he did not hesitate to call the 19-year-old “the best full-back” Europe for his age.”
That is a somewhat exaggerated statement for a player who has only made seven appearances for Porto. Over the past four years, there have been times when Mourinho’s assessment has gone astray.
But when the 22/23 season kicked off, Dalot was one of only two players – along with goalkeeper David de Gea – to start all 15 games under Erik ten Hag. In the Premier League this season, no Man United player has touched the ball more than Dalot (769). In addition, only Lisandro Martinez (500) and Bruno Fernandes (412) completed more passes than him (401).
If you ask MU fans which players are shining under Ten Hag, they will most likely mention Martinez, Raphael Varane or Christian Eriksen. With his current form, Dalot absolutely deserves a mention.
Not long ago, the Portuguese player was still playing in Italy for AC Milan on loan. United manager at the time, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer preferred to use the £50m right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who even arrived a year after Dalot.
Dalot makes the most of his time in Italy, so much so that he occasionally sleeps at the training ground to ensure time on the recovery equipment. In the past, injuries have been a thorny issue for Dalot. He made just 11 appearances in his second season in England, mainly due to constant pain in his groin. But the player born in 1999 has worked hard to stay in the best possible shape, keeping him injury-free in the last two years.
Solskjaer remained in regular contact with Dalot during his time at Milan. That’s why when the Serie A team tried to buy him outright, MU refused. Solskjaer has always admired Dalot’s offensive abilities, but doubts his defensive skills. Even so, the Norwegian has noticed a marked improvement after Dalot’s return from San Siro, which he attributes to the influence of Italian football.
“If I were a better defender, I think I’d be indebted to Milan,” Dalot said. “Italian football is very different from the Premier League and I only had a year to adapt. Playing in Serie A has helped me a lot.”
This season, only Casemiro (25) has more tackles in MU shirt than Dalot (20). Only Martinez (46) and Varane (39) have more saves (21), as well as only Fernandes (111) have won more contentions (91).
Ten Hag clearly benefited from Dalot being more solid in defence. However, he also encouraged his student to continue to develop his offensive prowess, which helped him take Wan-Bissaka’s place in the starting lineup, who had limitations on the offensive front. At times, Ten Hag also asked Dalot to squeeze in and become a midfielder during different stages of the game, allowing him to have more touch on the ball.
“Ten Hag likes attacking full-backs,” Dalot said of the former Ajax Amsterdam coach. “He likes active full-backs, so we have to always speculate on what’s going to happen in the game, not just wait for what will happen from the other half.”
Dalot wants to make sure he can impress Ten Hag in the pre-season. That’s why he used part of his summer break in Portugal to work with a personal trainer as well as a fitness and nutritionist. He is very focused on improving his speed. So far, it has paid off: Dalot has reached the third-fastest sprint in the Premier League this season, behind only Darwin Nunez and Gabriel Martinelli.
In 2018, Mourinho believed MU had found a gem when they signed Dalot. Even after just one game, he thinks the team has found a right-back for the next 10 years. “He has all the qualities a full-back needs,” he said. “From physical, technical – tactical combined with the solid psychological foundation that Porto academy has prepared so that the players can grow up quickly at the professional level.”
Diogo Dalot reflected on the ‘special’ moment of his first Premier League goal and praised teammate Antony after Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
United enjoyed a dominant win at the City Ground, with Dalot making it two on 76 minutes after Antony had opened the scoring in the first-half. Erik ten Hag’s side were utterly dominant, enjoying 69% possession and 22 shots on goals while Forest failed to test David De Gea once.
A number of missed chances at 1-0 had some Reds fearing a sucker punch could come, but Dalot alleviated concerns with a calm finish after good work from Antony. The pair came together after the initial celebrations to shake hands, and Dalot praised his teammate for another solid performance.
Diogo Dalot and Antony celebrated together after the former’s goal
“It was special, the moment of the goal was important as well, 2-0 made it more comfortable,” Dalot told Sky Sports. “They were creating some chances, especially from corners which in the Premier League is always dangerous when your’e 1-0 up. It is always special to score for this club, but I’m more happy with the result.”
And on his handshake celebration with Antony, the Reds defender added: “It’s our little thing. He had a fantastic game as well. He is getting rewards from his effort all season.”
