FPL new signings: Can Dorgu fix Amorim’s wing-back problem?

After a difficult start to his Manchester United tenure, head coach Ruben Amorim used the January transfer window to start rebuilding. His first major signing is versatile 20-year-old Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m), who – we think – looks set to feature at wing-back.

Linked with Napoli, the Red Devils were able to react by agreeing an initial £25m fee with Lecce.

So will the youngster fit smoothly into Amorim’s system and what impact will he have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?

We’ll take a look during this Scout Report piece, including data and images from our Premium Members Area.

HISTORY

Considering Dorgu’s age and small sample size of senior outings, there’s not much of a history.

Born in Copenhagen to Nigerian parents, he’s part of a sporting family and joined the famed FC Nordsjaelland academy that has produced Premier League names like Mohammed Kudus (£6.2m), Simon Adingra (£5.1m), Kamaldeen Sulemana (£5.0m), Mathias Jensen (£5.3m) and Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.0m).

Unlike those – and some of the other names that brought big money – Dorgu hadn’t racked up a season or two of first-team appearances before departing. He was spotted by Lecce as a 17-year-old and purchased for just £170,000.

Dorgu helped I Giallorossi win the Primavera youth league title in 2022/23 and immediately progressed to the first team. The first half of this campaign has seen him become a nailed-on starter, though curiously he’s featured a lot as a right-sided winger rather than left-back.

From there, he’s already scored three times since September for the side with the fewest Serie A goals. He actually netted three in one match versus Verona but the first two – a header and left-footed strike – were disallowed.

Furthermore, around that time, Dorgu scored on his Denmark debut against Switzerland just 42 seconds after coming off the bench. It means he’s already familiar with new team-mates Christian Eriksen (£5.2m) and Rasmus Hojlund (£6.9m).

PLAYING STYLE

He’s a physical specimen with a high work rate and a desire to dribble at opponents using raw acceleration. This season, it’s mostly just attackers that better his 68 progressive ball carries, helping Dorgu become Serie A’s second-most fouled. A good tackler too, he’s won the second-most ground duels (113) and has taken 36 shots at a rate of 1.76 per 90 minutes.

“He’s a surprisingly good finisher, he drives the ball well. He’s not really quick but because he’s so strong he’s very good at shrugging people off.” –  journalist Karsten Krogh

By comparison, Premier League defenders Pedro Porro (£5.4m), Josko Gvardiol (£5.9m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m) have had 35, 34 and 30 respectively.

But before FPL managers rush to buy such an attacking asset, let’s address the uncertainty about his position.

He’s played under three Lecce managers and the latest two see him as a right-winger who cuts inside on his stronger foot. Before then, he was mostly used on the left side of a four-man defence, which isn’t quite the same as being a wing-back.

“He can play a lot of positions but we always had an idea that he would become a full-back or a wing-back. He is a good fit for that position. With his technical level in small areas, I think it is very difficult to put him under pressure because he is very calm on the ball and very good in tight spaces. He is good at dribbling as well. Moving the ball away from the opponent’s feet is a trademark for him.” – Alexander Riget, technical director at FC Nordsjaelland

It feels similar to Bukayo Saka‘s (£10.2m) initial breakthrough before he settled into being higher up the pitch. Yet others like comparing Dorgu to Alphonso Davies and Theo Hernandez.

In fact, former manager Luca Gotti has put forward Gareth Bale as a suggestion. No pressure, then.

“A few years ago, Mazzarri was coaching Napoli and he was looking for a wide player to play in his 3-5-2. I’d been watching some of the youth teams at international level and I had the perfect player for him. I talked to Napoli’s sporting director at the time and recommended Bale to him. He went to have a chat with Tottenham.

“Then a few days later, Bale scored a hat-trick against Inter. He became an attacking player and was then unsellable. He could have been a full-back but he has goals in him. This could happen to Dorgu.” – former Lecce head coach Luca Gotti

As for his goals, he scored a rebound against Fiorentina from left-back and, as a winger, converted at the back post past Venezia. It was a similar position versus Verona, where the one that eventually counted was a header.

Both his strike past Parma and debut Denmark goal saw a central Dorgu confidently latch onto through balls. So there are attacking instincts, for sure.

However, at such a young age, weaknesses do exist. One of them is not quite knowing when is the right time to attack – that could leave him exposed against opposing Premier League wingers. Holding onto the ball is another.

WHERE DORGU FITS IN AT MAN UNITED

Early thoughts upon Amorim’s arrival were that his preferred 3-4-3 formation was a mismatch with the players he’d inherited. For example, right-footed Diogo Dalot (£5.0m) has been playing on the wrong side in Luke Shaw‘s (£4.9m) absence.

Therefore purchasing a left-wing-back became the club’s priority. Dorgu is the one they wanted – even if he’s rarely played in this exact position – so he may go straight into a Premier League starting lineup that can’t afford to waste any more time.

Just to keep us guessing, Amorim started Dorgu at right wing-back in Friday’s cup clash with Leicester City. He was withdrawn at the interval.

“He played a lot of times in Lecce on the right. That is one of the characteristics that we pay attention to a lot, to have a player like him. He was a little bit anxious in the first touch with the ball. It’s a different league for him, different speed of the game, but he did well. He has space, he has strength, he’s going to improve a lot. And we, as a team, we need to play better to help these new guys to perform at the right level. But the position, and you can can see in Wyscout that he’s played in both sides.

“Yes [we could see more of Dorgu on the right]. Again, if you’re going to see the history of Dorgu in the last team, he played a lot of games also on the right. And we have to have wingers that can play both sides, like [Diogo] Dalot. So I think it’s a really good, important thing, because sometimes you need a left-footer on the right side to come inside and to connect in the different way. And sometimes you need the right-footed [player] to connect and to cross more balls, so it’s like that.” – Ruben Amorim on Patrick Dorgu, speaking after the Leicester game

IS DORGU WORTH BUYING IN FPL?

Man United have won just five times during Amorim’s 15 matches, losing five of their last six at Old Trafford.

Not that defence is their main problem. They may have kept just one clean sheet in 11 matches but there were six in the opening 13, helping them to a current position of conceding the third-fewest shots on target (92) and fifth-fewest overall attempts (264).

Instead, the lack of goals is holding them back. Dorgu could come in, collect a solid number of clean sheets and contribute some attacking returns like at Lecce. But it’s a lot to ask from someone who has only been playing for 18 months, now in a team in transition that has so often flattered to deceive. A talent that is promising but still very raw.

And like we said in Mathys Tel‘s (£6.0m) report, versatility is ideal for managers but the uncertainty over where his primary position is could end up restricting his progress.

Meetings with Ipswich in Gameweek 27 and Leicester – again – in Blank Gameweek 29 bring potential at both ends. But surrounding these are difficult occasions against four of the current top six.

If managers do want to gamble on Dorgu, his fixtures rotate well with Lewis Hall (£5.1m), Daniel Munoz (£4.8m) and those from Bournemouth.

He could equally come into the equation for Gameweek 29 Free Hitters/dead-enders. At the bare minimum, it’ll be worth watching him in Gameweek 25 first to see if Amorim trusts him from the start in the Premier League and to see how he’s settling in. At this point, it feels too early.