Manchester United have all but confirmed their first major signing of the January transfer window. Patrick Dorgu will join the club from Serie A side Lecce, with Fabrizio Romano confirming the deal will cost United £25m up front, with a further £4.1m to be paid in add-ons.
The Dane certainly solves a lot of issues for United at left wing-back, given the options Ruben Amorim has had at his disposal so far, which includes Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui, both right-backs by trade.
However, the addition of Dorgu certainly adds quality and depth for the Red Devils at wing-back. This is something they seemingly want to replicate on the right-hand side if the recent transfer rumours are to be believed.
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The player in question here is 17-year-old Portuguese star Geovany Quenda. The Sporting CP star has been making waves across Europe this season, and could now depart the club at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
According to a report from The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Red Devils are believed to be ‘exploring’ a summer move for the versatile 17-year-old, although INEOS are yet to send through an official offer to Amorim’s former club.
In terms of a price for the youngster, he could cost upwards of €40m (£33m), with United targeting a permanent move for Quenda. Ornstein explains that, for United, ‘work on next window to step up after this market shuts’ on Monday.
Why Quenda would be a good signing
Signing Quenda would certainly be a big addition for United. He is an exciting young player, who has excelled this season for Sporting. In 34 games across all competitions, he has two goals and six assists for Leoes.
One of those assists came in Sporting’s 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City in the Champions League.
One of the benefits of signing the 17-year-old is his ability to play as a wingback in Amorim’s system. Quenda played there when he first broke into the Sporting side and saw great degrees of success.
There is a clear plan for United to recruit attacking wing-backs, as the addition of Dorgu and the potential signing of Quenda demonstrate. In fact, the pair have similar attacking numbers. For example, the Sporting star averages 1.9 key passes per game, as per Sofascore, whilst Dorgu averaged 0.9 key passes per game.
Someone who Quenda could replicate at Old Trafford is a potential future teammate, Amad. The Ivorian has been simply sensational for the Red Devils this term, with nine goals and seven assists in 34 games across all competitions.
The 22-year-old has scored in some big games this season, including the winning goal in the Manchester Derby at the Etihad Stadium, and a crucial equaliser away to Liverpool at Anfield to earn his side a point.
Like Quenda, Amad has excelled under Amorim and has performed well as a right wing-back, as well as playing as a number ten. Both players have played 18 times under the Portuguese boss, and have impressive records each.
Stat
Quenda
Amad
Games
18
18
Minutes
1234
1357
Goals
2
6
Assists
2
5
Signing Quenda could allow Amad to move permanently into the number ten role, with the 17-year-old becoming first choice right wing-back at Old Trafford. This arguably gets the best out of both players and means they can fit easily into Amorim’s system.
The Sporting youngster was described as a “diamond” by football scout Antonio Mango, and he could certainly be a great long-term investment for the Red Devils.
If he can replicate what Amad has done at right wing-back so far under Amorim, then United will certainly be happy with the deal. He has already shown glimpses of that form at Sporting under the United boss, and the Red Devils will hope he can repeat and better that.
For just £33m, this could be a fantastic deal for INEOS, as they look to construct the perfect squad for their new boss.
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