DIOGO DALOT has been a rare point of stability amid a turbulent season for Manchester United.
The 25-year-old has stood out as a soild performer at right-back this season, with a string of consistent displays.
On a relatively humble £85,000-a-week wages, Dalot is far from the most glamorous player in team. Yet what he offers is certainly worth the price.
He shifts between being an anchor point in build up play by moving into midfield to offer a passing option and then providing an option out wide with an overlapping run.
His durability has also been a key factor for Erik ten Hag this season, with just two Premier League games missed – one for being an unused sub and the other being down to suspension.
Only Bruno Fernandes can boast more league minutes than Dalot among outfielders at the club, while he has started 41 of his 43 games in all competitions.
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Fans have now highlighted Dalot’s efforts after another reliable display amid a shocking collapse against Coventry in the FA Cup semi-final.
An assist for Scott McTominay’s opener and a crucial block at the far post to prevent a first-half equaliser for Coventry saw one fan label him: “One of the players of the season.”
He was also the star in earlier rounds, being the pick of the bunch when Man Utd beat Newport 4-2 in the FA Cup fourth round.
While some players have blown hot and cold throughout the season, looking at Dalot’s league numbers it is hard to disagree with the “Mr consistent” tag.
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Dalot ranks fifth among defenders in the Premier League for tackles won. He is also sixth overall for tackles in the defensive third and for tackles against dribblers, even if his success rate (68.3 per cent) is not as high as team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka (72.7 per cent)
The Portuguese defender also has 91 clearances, 35 interceptions and 41 blocks made this season, all while having no errors made.
Going forwards, Dalot has also proven to be a valuable asset.
He has managed 100 progressive passes (bettered only by Fernandes), 16 completed crosses into the penalty area (sixth highest among PL defenders) and a total pass completion percentage of 80.6 per cent.
It is not just his performances and numbers which separate him from his peers, but also his mentality.
Bruno Fernandes should be embarrassed by this… United fans were, says Neil Custis
By Neil Custis
BRUNO FERNANDES ended the FA Cup semi-final a man bemused as to what he had been a part of.
No doubt knowing it would be he would have to try and explain it all again.
Rarely have a team slunk away from this stadium with a feeling of embarrassment having just reach an FA Cup Final.
The next time Fernandes turns up at the home of football he wants to be heading up those metal steps and picking up silverware.
Nothing less will do for the captain of Manchester United.
But he knows they have not got a hope of gaining revenge on this cross town rivals Manchester City if this is what they are going to deliver.
This was an embarrassment, plain and simple, for Ten Hag, for Fernandes, for every player in red.
After the skipper finished his TV interview he turned around to the end that had housed the United fans to clap them in thanks.
There was barely anyone left.
Read Neil Custis’ opinion in full here.
Or click here to read all of Neil’s article.
Moments before kick-off in the FA Cup semi-final Dalot was seen hyping up Red Devils wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo.
Following a win over Aston Villa in February, Ten Hag highlighted Dalot as a “fantastic player who is developing well”.
He added: “He can play in so many positions and he is improving on crosses. He can score and his defending is improving so I am very pleased with him.”
Dalot has also earned the praise of Man Utd legend Gary Neville, who made the right-back position his own with two decades of consistent displays for the club, and suggested he may be the long term player for the position.
In February he said: “Dalot is someone that people say about [when they discuss] the right-back for the future for Manchester United. They might have the right-back for the future there.
“There is a lot there: he’s six foot; he’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s good on the ball, he’s not a bad defender. I think he defends his back post really well. He opens up his shoulders.
“I think if he can start playing in a really confident back four and a settled back four [then he could be the right-back for the future]…
“It’s (the back four) always changing, and he’s never really got a constant presence outside him on that right-hand side. I had that for years, where I could build a relationship.”
It’s an assessment likely backed by Cristiano Ronaldo, with Dalot being one of the few players to earn praise from him in his interview slamming the club before his unceremonious exit.
Asked which players he admired at the time, he said: “In Manchester United I can mention Dalot.
“He’s young, but very professional but I don’t doubt that he’s going to have longevity in football because he’s young, he’s smart, intelligent and he’s very professional.
“Probably [Lisandro] Martinez, Casemiro is in his 30s, but I will say Dalot.”
Dalot is tied down until 2028 after signing his latest Man Utd contract last summer.
The ex-Porto star made his Red Devils debut under Jose Mourinho back in 2018.
After a 2019 match in the Champions League, Mourinho declared Dalot can be a player who “has more than ten years to play for Manchester United”.
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Six years into his Man Utd career, Dalot has played 150 times for the club and gone from strength to strength, and still has his best years ahead of him.
While all the talk for Man Utd’s Player of the Season is about the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Mainoo, Dalot certainly deserves to be in the conversation.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
