Diogo Dalot has outlined his intention to make Jose Mourinho have headaches deciding who to start in the right-back position at Manchester United.
The Portuguese signed from FC Porto with a pre-existing injury in the summer, and so has been out of action until now. He played in the last two consecutive under-23 games but finally made his debut in mid-week.
It was an impressive display against Young Boys as Man United comfortably beat the Swiss champions 3-0 thanks to a brace from Paul Pogba.
Dalot made a good effort of forcing Mourinho to give him more games now he’s fit, with Antonio Valencia, the club captain, usually the first choice in his position.
“Yeah, [competition] is good. That’s good for the team, that’s competition, that’s what every player likes and my job is to make the coach a difficult,” Dalot told MUTV after Wednesday night’s game.
“It felt good. It is like every player. When he makes his debut he wants to play, and I wanted to play very much.
“My teammates helped me to be comfortable when under pressure and that was good.
“Now I’m ready to start my season. And I’m hungry for more.”
Dalot is clearly ambitious, but United fans must remember to keep their hopes limited for the young right-back. Many players have started well at United before going onto fade in their first season.
For now, though, it’s a great start to his United career. He added much-needed penetration on the right flank, which has been missing because United have no natural right-winger and Valencia has a tendency to cut back and play the ball inwards rather than taking on his man.
