Why it was a big day for returning Dalot

The defender spent last season on loan at AC Milan and earned lots of praise for his performances with the Italian giants, after helping them to finish second in Serie A behind rivals Internazionale.

Still only 22 and hungry to enhance his footballing education, Dalot made 33 appearances across all competitions with Milan and those included two against United in the Europa League. As you may remember, the Reds ran out 2-1 winners on aggregate at the last-16 stage.  

INTERNATIONAL EXPLOITS

At the conclusion of the domestic season, Dalot was proudly selected to represent Portugal at the European Under-21 Championship and our no.20 once again stood out as he helped his homeland to reach the final, although the result was sadly not one to remember: a 1-0 defeat to Germany. 

There was no time for Diogo to feel down, however, because he was almost immediately drafted into Portugal’s senior squad for Euro 2020 following Joao Cancelo's COVID-19 diagnosis, which led to a couple of tournament appearances against the mighty France and Belgium, respectively.

BACK AT UNITED

A much-deserved summer holiday followed for Dalot and, now that he is rested and recharged, he returned to Carrington on Monday morning, when he was pictured training with the squad.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is blessed with several options at full-back, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams challenging for the right-back position, with Luke Shaw and Alex Telles also competing on the left, but there is always room for more competition at United and Diogo hopes to muscle in. 

Dalot has repeatedly shown an excellent attitude and continues to be a top professional, so he will be eager to impress the manager and cement his place in the squad for the coming 2021/22 season.

Solskjaer says our returning players are unlikely to feature in Wednesday’s friendly against Brentford at Old Trafford, but it remains to be seen if Saturday’s fixture at Preston North End is a possibility.