Paul Scholes and Roy Keane have given their verdict on Patrick Dorgu’s Manchester United debut in Friday night’s FA Cup win over Leicester City where he lasted just 45 minutes before being hauled off at half-time
Paul Scholes has appeared to question Ruben Amorim’s choice to deploy Manchester United’s fresh signing Patrick Dorgu in an unusual inverted wing-back role.
The Red Devils manager, who took the reins from Erik ten Hag in November, has had to work with the squad he inherited from the Dutchman but was able to make one signing in the January transfer window, signing Dorgu from Lecce for £25million.
Though shining on the left flank for Lecce, Amorim raised eyebrows when he started both Dorgu and Dalot as inverted wing-backs against Leicester City on Friday, leading to Dorgu playing on the right before he was substituted off at half-time.
Taking to Instagram, Scholes appeared to be frustrated by how Dorgu was used, writing on his story: “Inverted wing-backs… you saw it at OT first.”
Scholes wasn’t alone in questioning Amorim’s decision, with fellow United legend Roy Keane giving his verdict while on punditry duty for ITV. Keane wondered if Amorim’s decision to replace Dorgu at the break having played the 20-year-old out of his natural position was fair.
“There is a lack of belief, lack of confidence. They’ve brought new players in, you’re thinking he’s [Dorgu] going to play in his position and he’s playing right wing-back,” Keane said.
“You think, is that unfair on players? And you look at the urgency for the goal [Leicester opener], it’s given away cheaply, people not staying with their runners. I just look at it from United’s point of view and think, my goodness, is this what it’s come to?”
However, Amorim stood by his team selection, asserting Dorgu’s versatility as a player: “He played a lot of time at Lecce on the right and the left. That is one of the characteristics we pay attention to a lot, to have a player like him,” he explained.
“He was a little bit anxious with first touch of the ball. It’s a different league for him, different speed of the game, but he did well. He had pace, strength, he will improve a lot and we as a team need to play better to help these new guys to perform at the right level. The position, you can see in WyScout he can play both sides.”