Could United fans see more of Dalot soon?
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised the midweek performance of Diogo Dalot, who is determined to kick on following his return from a strong loan spell last season.
Dalot spent the 2020/21 campaign with AC Milan and racked up 34 appearances with the Rossoneri, helping them to a second-placed finish in Serie A and with it, Champions League qualification for the first time in seven years.
The 22-year-old went on to make his first senior appearances for Portugal during the summer, in two huge games against France and Belgium at Euro 2020.
Press Conference: West Ham (A)
Solskjaer’s press conference contains praise for Dalot, musings on our midfield and thoughts on Lingard’s future…
Solskjaer feels the experience will no doubt prove invaluable to Dalot, who could feature in our next Champions League fixture following Aaron Wan-Bissaka's red card on Tuesday night, although the length of our no.29's suspension is still to be determined by UEFA.
“Yeah, Diogo has had a very good summer of course, being called up into the Euros, he did well for Portugal Under-21s,’’ said the manager in Thursday’s pre-match press conference.
“He had a season in which he learned a lot from in Milan, he kept fit, that was a big thing, and he's got qualities we will look to try and exploit more and more.”
Diogo featured for only the fifth time in the Champions League when he came on as a substitute against Young Boys, replacing Jadon Sancho on 37 minutes as Solskjaer reshuffled following Wan-Bissaka’s dismissal.
The Portugal international defended resolutely but ultimately United were edged out in the dying seconds as Jordan Siebatcheu seized on Jesse Lingard's backpass to snatch away what would have been an invaluable point in Bern given the circumstances.
With games now coming thick and fast for Ole’s side, the squad depth that has often been heavily criticised is something the boss will now have to rely on once again, with United facing five fixtures in a 14-day period.
But with Dalot playing in four different club competitions last season for Milan, Reds boss Solskjaer believes the former Porto youngster has more than enough in his locker to deal with the demands despite still developing his game fully.
“He’s got more experience now, and we're not here to just loan players out for years and years. Last year's loan was to give him that experience and game time, and I think he did well when he came on the other night,” added Solskjaer.