Diogo Dalot relishing competition with Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Manchester United
Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot relishes the competition with Aaron Wan-Bissaka for a place in the starting lineup at the Old Trafford side.
Erik ten Hag has the Portugal international and the former Crystal Palace star at his disposal as things stand. In the previous campaign, the Dutch manager gave both players an opportunity to prove themselves at the club.
Speaking to the media via Manchester Evening News, the former FC Porto star believes a club of United’s stature should have multiple players in each position fighting for minutes.
“If you want to play for this club, you have to be able to compete – not just as a team, but as individual as well.
“Every position we have at least now two players that can play and they can start a game for this club. So this is something that I’ve always said, and I’ve always kept on my mind that I like it. I like to have this type of competition.”
Dalot signed for the Red Devils in the summer of 2018. Subsequently, the 24-year-old mostly played a backup role at the Old Trafford side.
Subsequently, in the summer of 2019, United added Wan-Bissaka, 25, to their squad. The English national was a key player for the Manchester-based club under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was one of the first names on the team sheet.
As a result, the Portuguese found game time hard to come by under the Norwegian head coach at the Old Trafford side. He spent the 2020/21 season on loan at AC Milan.
It seemingly looked like Dalot’s time at the Red Devils was coming to an end. However, with the dismissal of Ole and the arrival of former interim manager Ralf Rangnick, the defender’s fortunes changed. The Austrian head coach gave the 23-year-old a lot of opportunities.
Initially, Ten Hag trusted the Portuguese at United as well. Wan-Bissaka fell down the pecking order. But the former Palace star made a place for himself in the team after the 2022 World Cup and regained his starting spot towards the end of the 2022/23 term.
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The Old Trafford side are lucky to have two decent right-backs at their disposal. It will be interesting to see who the gaffer will rely on in the upcoming campaign.
