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Diogo Dalot wants Man Utd stay, considered important by Erik ten Hag

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot plans to continue with the club next season as he is considered a key player under manager Erik ten Hag, Gianluca Di Marzio reports.

The Portugal international started the previous campaign as the back-up option for right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but his fortunes changed with the sacking of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

At the beginning of this year, he became a regular in the starting line-up under interim head coach Ralf Rangnick, and managed to keep his place for the vast remainder of the season.

A recent report revealed that manager Ten Hag plans to work with him next term and it could be Wan-Bissaka heading for the exit door if the club decide to sign a new right-back.

The same has been reiterated by Di Marzio, who has claimed that Dalot has no plans of parting ways with United. The former Porto graduate is considered ‘important’ by Ten Hag.

Roma, Fiorentina and former club AC Milan have been credited with an interest in signing him in recent months, but Dalot does not see himself returning to the Italian top-flight at the moment.

Our view:

Dalot’s future was the subject of big speculation last summer. He was fancied to pursue a fresh challenge elsewhere, suppose the Red Devils signed a new right-back.

However, it was not the case. He started the 2021/22 campaign as Wan-Bissaka’s deputy, but ended the season on a high, becoming the undisputed right-back under Rangnick.

Comparing the two, they were quite similar defensively with more than two tackles per league game. However, Dalot definitely had the edge over Wan-Bissaka when it came to forward play.

He showed more eagerness to make overlapping runs and attempted early crosses which were not capitalised upon. There were also more progressive passes. He managed three times the number of long balls as Wan-Bissaka.

This has apparently boosted his career prospects under Ten Hag, but the Dutch tactician may still want a strong competitor, who can make regular goal contributions for the club next season.

Dalot showed promise with some performances last term, but failed to register a goal or an assist. Based on recent speculation, the club seem to be interested in signing RB Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com and WhoScored.com