Carrick Considers Dorgu for Man Utd's Emergency Left-Back Role
Manchester United’s failure to land a left-back before the transfer window slammed shut has opened the door for Patrick Dorgu to revisit a role he thought he had left behind.
Michael Carrick has already called the 21-year-old Dane “like a new signing” after his return from a long-term hamstring injury. Now he might have to treat him like one in a very different position.
United went into deadline day chasing cover at left-back, pushing late for Alejandro Balde and Rayan Ait-Nouri. Both deals collapsed. When the window closed on Tuesday night, Carrick was left with Luke Shaw as his only recognised left-back.
Behind him? Just a collection of improvisations. Noussair Mazraoui can shuffle across. Diogo Dalot has filled in there before. And then there is Dorgu.
From winger to full-back… again?
Under Carrick, Dorgu has only been used on the wing. He started on the left at Hull City on the opening day of the season, then dropped to the bench for the win over Ipswich. Before that, injuries meant he barely featured: just three or four appearances last season before the hamstring problem cut him down.
To Carrick, that absence has made his return feel fresh.
“He actually has been injured, unfortunately, for some time,” Carrick said. “You could almost argue that he played three or four times for us last season, so for me, he's almost like a new player, you know, to have, and it's almost like a new signing in some ways because he's added so much to the group.”
The twist is that Dorgu is no stranger to defending. United signed him from Lecce in January 2025 for £25million after he had been playing as a left-back in Serie A. Before that, Ruben Amorim had used him as a wing-back. For club and country, he has already lived several footballing lives.
“He can certainly play there. He has done, without doubt,” Carrick said when asked about using Dorgu at left-back. “I'm not sitting here saying he can't do that. It's just the way we've been since I've been here.”
Versatility United suddenly need
Dorgu has caught the eye as a left-winger under Carrick and shown he can hurt teams from the opposite flank as well. For Denmark in June, he lined up on the right wing and scored a superb goal cutting in from that side.
“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.”
United’s squad is heavy with wide players. It is light at full-back. That imbalance almost forces the question: how long before Carrick dips into Dorgu’s defensive past?
“It's something he can, we just haven't had to explore that,” Carrick admitted. “At some point, we might have to, at some point he might do that. He can do that, absolutely no problem. There are times in training when he does it.”
For now, Dorgu remains a forward option, a young attacker still learning the Premier League and rediscovering his rhythm after injury. But the manager clearly sees more.
“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.
With no new left-back through the door and a long season stretching ahead, getting the most out of him might soon mean asking Dorgu to step back – literally – and help solve one of United’s most delicate selection problems.
