Patrick Dorgu recently sat down with the MEN to dicuss his first six months at the club and his hopes for the new season.
Dorgu spoke to the MEN at Carrington after meeting young fans.(Image: Manchester United)
Joshua Zirkzee is modelling for a commercial partner and Kobbie Mainoo is recording snippets for the Chinese New Year. Luke Shaw arrives to speak with club media in another room.
Three Manchester United correspondents have been invited to speak with Patrick Dorgu, who is slightly late for his engagement after spending time with young season ticket holders.
United’s press officer briefly speaks to Dorgu before ushering journalists into the new-look press conference room. Dorgu is about to speak for 16 minutes, touching on his desire to win the Premier League this season, his blossoming relationship with Matheus Cunha, finding his feet in Manchester after a ruthless introduction to English football and Rasmus Hojlund’s future.
“I think I learned a lot,” said Dorgu of last season. “It was a difficult and I was thrown into everything, but I feel I dealt with it good. I just try to bring a lot of confidence into this season.”
United signed Dorgu from Lecce for £25million, with a potential £4.1m in add-ons, in the January transfer window, and United won just three Premier League matches after his arrival.
It would be an understatement to say Dorgu was thrown into the deep end. However, he was a heavily data-driven signing and the numbers suggested he would be able to swim.
Staff have noticed a difference in Dorgu in recent weeks. He is more confident, more willing to speak. He has become comfortable at Carrington, which should be reflected in his performances.
And against Arsenal, he struck the post from distance, a shot he admits he would not have had the confidence to take last season.
“It’s a new season and everyone did well in pre-season,” he said. “I’m just trying to play myself into the team more. Just give the fans what they deserve and I think everyone is trying to put United where we need to be.”
Dorgu pictured shooting against Arsenal on the opening day.
United believe Dorgu has the attributes to become a top player. “I had interest from big teams in Italy as well, so it (United’s interest) wasn’t a surprise,” he said. “If you’re doing well, the big teams are going to look. I was surprised that they were really aggressive to get it done quickly, and I was really happy for that.”
Which big clubs in Italy were interested? “I’m not going to say,” he laughed.
The 20-year-old was signed for Ruben Amorim’s system and is first-choice at left wing-back.
“In Denmark, I was playing wing-back. Then when I moved to Lecce, I was playing left back, and then the last season before I moved to United, I was playing more as a winger,” he said.
“It’s just easier to attack as a wing back than as a full back – I feel comfortable in that role. But I could still do the job as I full back, but it’s just less attacking.”
Regarding his current role, he added: “I think just a lot of runs, like being more attacking. I could have been more attacking last season and I feel like in pre-season I’ve improved that a little bit. It’s just to attack more [Amorim’s message], get into the box, help the team create more chances.
“I like to tackle, I like to attack, I like to score goals, gain assists, so I think just to play wing back, you need to be all around, you need to be good at tackling, you need to be good at defensive work as well.”
Dorgu spent time with young season ticket holders at Carrington.
Amorim’s formation has been scrutinised, so what does Dorgu think? “It depends what system you’re playing against. You can always drop alongside the centre backs to make it a 4-3-3,” he said.
“It’s just about adapting to who you’re playing against and just help each other, move for each other, and then it’s not really about the system. It’s more like how you’re dealing with it.
“It’s up to you how you want to play. If the midfielders feel like they’re getting man-marked, then they can move down [towards defence], get the ball, and then play. You just need to move.
“Obviously, you’re not just going to move around [anywhere]. I can’t just run to the right side, but you can move in your position.”
Speaking about Amorim, Dorgu added: “He’s a really good guy, he’s positive with everyone and always defending you. He always tries to help you play the game, so he knows how it is.
“We definitely understand more [what Amorim wants]. We understand what he wants us to do, and obviously, now that we’re not in Europe, we have more training.
“He has more time for us to really understand his ideas. Obviously, we want to go back to playing many games. Now we have the time to do it and then we need to perform this season.”
Dorgu has grand ambitions: to win the Premier League and play at the 2026 World Cup for Denmark. When asked whether United can return to Europe, he responded: “100 per cent, we are aiming to win the Premier League and we just need to take it game by game.”
Amorim has explained the internal target is European qualification. United are planning to win the Premier League by 2028, but Dorgu is impatient and insists it should be the aim this season.
“100 per cent. We are Manchester United, so that’s always going to be our goal,” he added.
Dorgu spoke four days before United’s draw against Fulham.(Image: AFP or licensors)
The reality is United are a world away from winning the title. The morale in the dressing room improved this summer, but the 1-1 draw against Fulham is a reminder that results must also improve.
“I think the facilities help, I think new signings have helped as well,” Dorgu said. “They bring a lot of good energy, quality into the group. We tried to be positive about our new season.
“Everyone has a point to prove this season. We need to get back to Europe, so I feel like if we are as a group and ready to perform on the pitch. We need to stick together, be happy, positive, and try to do what the coach asks.”
Dorgu is no longer the new face at Old Trafford with this summer seeing a trio of expensive attacking reinforcements join, including Matheus Cunha. When he arrived from Wolves he told Dorgu not to kick him, a reference to their encounter at Old Trafford last season.
“He had me once when I got a yellow card,” recalled Dorgu. “Besides that, he was quiet in the game. Matheus is a really public guy, like he talks a lot and he’s really funny – he’s trying to engage with everyone so it’s easier to talk with him because he has a lot of energy.
“I feel like he’s really, really good at driving with the ball, getting past players, and I feel like with my runs and what I can do will help him to do that, and get more space to play, and we just need to connect well, like me and him.
“Obviously, there other players as well. It’s not only on the left side, we need to attack on both sides. It helps getting Cunha in because he’s really good at what he’s doing and he’s going to help the team.”
Although Dorgu admitted he “gets on” with everyone in the dressing room, he nominated Hojlund as his closest friend. “Probably Ras because he’s Danish and I know him from when I was younger,” he said. “I played against him when I was at Nordsjælland and he was at Copenhagen.”
Hojlund has been left of the squad for succesive games and is expected to leave before the transfer deadline. “Obviously, we don’t know if he’s leaving. He is training with us and he’s part of the team,” said Dorgu.
“You need to talk to the coach about why he was not in the squad. But if he ended up leaving, that’s part of the game, everyone is not secure to be here. Obviously I would still see him with the national team.”
Dorgu and Hojlund pictured at Carrington in July. (Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
Dorgu looked in high spirits in the photographs of himself playing football with 13 young season ticket holders on the morning of the interview. The children were selected to take part in a skills workshop with Manchester United Foundation coaches and were treated to Dorgu’s presence.
United say the aim of such fan engagement activities is to provide memorable experiences for their most loyal supporters, to increase understanding between fans and players of each others’ perspectives, and, ultimately, to strengthen the bond between the fans and the team.
Dorgu wants to further strentghen the bond with matchgoing fans by winning games again.