Carrick Sees Dorgu as United’s New Left-Back Solution

Manchester United’s failure to land a back-up left-back before the transfer window slammed shut has opened the door for an in-house solution – and Michael Carrick already has a name in mind.

Patrick Dorgu.

The 21-year-old Dane, signed from Lecce for £25million in January 2025, has largely been seen as an attacking option under Carrick. But with Alejandro Balde and Rayan Ait-Nouri both slipping from United’s grasp late in the window, the picture has changed.

Now, Dorgu might be heading back to where it all began.

From winger to potential full-back

Under Carrick, Dorgu has started four times, all of them on the wing. He began this season out wide at Hull City on the opening day, then dropped to the bench for the win over Ipswich. Before that, a hamstring injury wiped out a big chunk of his previous campaign, limiting his impact just as he was trying to settle into life at Old Trafford.

Carrick admitted that lay-off has made Dorgu feel almost fresh to him.

“He actually has been injured, unfortunately, for some time,” Carrick said. “You could almost argue that he played three or four times for us last season, so for me, he's almost like a new player, you know, to have, and it's almost like a new signing in some ways because he's added so much to the group.”

Dorgu has been used as a winger by Carrick and previously operated as a wing-back under Ruben Amorim. But crucially, he was playing as a conventional left-back for Lecce when United moved to bring him in from Serie A.

That detail suddenly matters a lot more.

Shaw alone – and the makeshift options

Once the window closed on Tuesday night without a deal for Balde or Ait-Nouri, Luke Shaw was left as the only natural left-back in the squad. Behind him, it’s a patchwork of possibilities: Dorgu, Noussair Mazraoui, Diogo Dalot. None of them are specialist cover in that role.

Carrick, though, is clear that Dorgu has the tools.

“He can certainly play there. He has done, without doubt,” he said. “I'm not sitting here saying he can't do that. It's just the way we've been since I've been here.”

The coaching staff have leaned into Dorgu’s attacking instincts. He has impressed as a left-winger for United and has even shown his versatility on the international stage, lining up on the right for Denmark and scoring a superb goal from that side during the June internationals.

That kind of flexibility is exactly what Carrick might need as the season wears on.

A multi-purpose weapon

Carrick knows he has a player who can cover several bases.

“He's played off the right for Denmark, scored a great goal in the summer playing off the right in a forward position,” Carrick said. “He can play left-back. He's that type where he can do a number of things. I'm certainly not saying he can't do that at all.

“It's something he can, we just haven't had to explore that. At some point, we might have to, at some point he might do that. He can do that, absolutely no problem. There are times in training when he does it.”

Those training-ground experiments may soon become something more serious. With United light at full-back and loaded with wide players further up the pitch, the logic is obvious: push one of the wingers higher, drop Dorgu deeper, and trust his athleticism and education in Italy to carry him through.

Carrick also stressed the long-term view.

“And then he's only young, being such a young age and having the attributes that he's got, we've just got to keep trying to get the most out of him.”

United wanted a new left-back from the market. They didn’t get one. Now the question is simple: does the answer already wear their shirt?