Over the past decade, it’s fair to say that the transfer strategy at Manchester United has been far from successful.
From overpaying for talent to signing players who simply don’t even fit the manager’s system, it’s all gone down under the ownership of the Glazer family.
The Red Devils have typically attempted to sign the big names for large fees in the hope that they will somehow completely change the club’s performance on the field.
Obviously, that’s not been the case, but there have been a few examples of United signing young talent, with one of those purchases now being worth the same amount as another successful acquisition, Bruno Fernandes.
Diogo Dalot’s first campaign under Erik ten Hag
Diogo Dalot has been the centre of much hype and attention recently, particularly for his consistent performances within an extremely inconsistent side, but he’s had to be patient for his chance, bearing in mind that he signed back in 2018 for £19m under Jose Mourinho.
Despite playing 26 games in the Premier League, Erik ten Hag wasn’t convinced by Dalot’s overall game, often rotating him with Aaron Wan-Bissaka when the latter returned from injury.
The 25-year-old even lost his place in the starting lineup towards the end of the season, with the fact that he didn’t get a single second on the field in the FA Cup final against Manchester City highlighting the position he was in at the time.
Even during the start of this campaign, Dalot was forced to sit on the bench in the opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers, only getting a chance in the side due to injuries, which may have just given the Portuguese defender the break he needed.
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It seems that the catalyst in Dalot’s rapid development this season has simply come down to one aspect: he’s got a run of games under his belt where he’s performed well.
The most important attribute that any player in world football can have is confidence, and this season, the former Porto ace clearly has that in abundance.
Whether he’s played as a left-back or in his usual right-back role, Dalot has been excellent over his 29 Premier League games, picking up four goal contributions and helping the side keep six clean sheets.
To add further context to just how impressive he’s been, football creator Liam Canning has described him as "sensational,” while football analyst StatmanDave has claimed that he’s been United’s “best player” on multiple occasions.
Alejandro Garnacho
£86m
Rasmus Hojlund
£86m
Marcus Rashford
£86m
Diogo Dalot
£51m
Bruno Fernandes
£51m
As a result, Dalot is now one of the Red Devil’s most valuable assets, which comes down to his versatility, reliability, and the potential that he still hasn’t quite reached.
Right now, the number 20 is United’s highest-valued defender by far, while also being the joint-fourth most-valuable full-back in the Premier League, according to CIES' Football Observatory.
Yet, even with Dalot’s improvement, it’s still difficult to believe that a full-back who wasn’t even first-choice at the start of the season is worth the same amount as Fernandes, who leads the way in the United squad for almost every attacking statistical metric.
Overall, it’s quite obvious that Man United truly hit the jackpot by taking the risk to sign Dalot six years ago, as they now have a long-term right-back who’s desperate to bring trophies back to Old Trafford.
