Erik ten Hag reportedly remains determined to purchase a new right-back after failing to acquire Sergino Dest in the summer - but Diogo Dalot should be giving his new boss plenty of food for thought.
Dalot established himself as first-choice last year after he was forced to play second fiddle to Aaron Wan-Bissaka for the majority of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Old Trafford tenure. But it's now the former Crystal Palace man who is out in the cold, with Dalot seemingly Ten Hag's first choice.
Following his appointment earlier this summer, Ten Hag quickly set his sights on bolstering Manchester United's full-back options. Former Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia became Ten Hag's first signing, but the Dutchman was unable to strike a deal to strengthen the other flank of United's defence.
United's failure to sign another right-back presented Dalot with the opportunity to usurp Wan-Bissaka in the Old Trafford pecking order; an opportunity which he has seized emphatically.
However, a fresh report from Sport, via Sport Witness, earlier this week indicated that Ten Hag still has designs on acquiring another full-back, with AS Monaco star Vanderson firmly on United's radar.
But Dalot's impressive start to the season could convince Ten Hag to reconsider his plot to snare a new right-back. The Portuguese ace has been an ever-present in the league this term and has caught the eye during United's recent revival under Ten Hag.
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And Dalot made another statement with an impressive performance for Portugal on Saturday night. The 24-year-old underlined his attacking credentials by netting twice in Portugal's emphatic 4-0 win over the Czech Republic, a result that propelled them to the top of their Nations League group ahead of Spain.
And Dalot's goalscoring display should leave Ten Hag, who places an emphasis on getting his full-backs involved with play in the final third, enthused. The right-back's standout performance also indicates that the former Porto ace has not been distracted by the prospect of added competition - if anything, he has raised his game in recent weeks.
The full-back's recent performances indicate that Dalot is finally starting to make good on his undoubted potential - a point made by Jose Mourinho, the man who tipped Dalot to emulate a Red Devils legend shortly after bringing him to Old Trafford back in 2018.
"Everybody knows that he has fantastic potential," said the former United chief. "I don't want to compare, especially not the number of titles but he is probably the same age as Gary Neville when he came into the first team. Probably he can follow Neville in this dynamic of more than 10 years as United's right-back, with amazing conditions to improve, because as I was saying he's 19 years old."
