Manchester United signed two new players over the weekend, the first arrivals of Ruben Amorim’s reign: the 18-year-old centre-back Ayden Heaven joined from Arsenal on Saturday, and 20-year-old left-back Patrick Dorgu landed from Lecce on Sunday. After a summer window spent signing young but established talent for Erik ten Hag, the winter window has seen a shift towards raw potential.
What is so unusual about Dorgu is just how quickly he has risen from relative obscurity to join one of Europe’s giant clubs (giant by reputation if not by actual football). Lecce spotted Dorgu playing in the youth ranks for Danish side Nordsjælland – a club renowned for nurturing young talent with Brighton’s Simon Adingra and Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard among their graduates – and he moved to Italy aged 17 in a transfer worth £170,000.
