Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has emerged as one of Erik ten Hag’s most trusted players and that comes after several years of playing second fiddle to Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Dalot was signed by Jose Mourinho in 2018 and up until this summer, the Portuguese defender has largely been overlooked and even shipped out on loan by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Since the Norwegian was let go last year, Dalot has cemented his position as the first-choice right-back but United have a decision to make and they need to do it quickly.
Dalot has less than one year remaining on his contract at the club and he is free to speak with foreign clubs over a pre-agreement in just two months.
United do, however, have an option to extend his deal for an additional season but that clause has yet to be activated as his contract runs down.
According to the Manchester Evening News, there is widespread interest in Dalot from Europe’s elite clubs, with Barcelona said to be one of the clubs interested in signing him.
As per the report, despite the Spanish giants being interested, Dalot is believed to prefer a prolonged stay at Old Trafford and instead wants to commit his future by signing a new contract. It’s claimed that talks over fresh terms are yet to get underway, however.
In addition to Barcelona, Serie A giants Juventus, Roma and AC Milan are also keen on signing the 23-year-old. Atletico Madrid are also named.
SN’s verdict…
It’s looking completely inconceivable that any player in the current squad will be able to displace Dalot on that right-hand side and if Ten Hag views him as a long-term occupant of that position, United must move fast to secure his future.
United’s departures on free transfers over the last two summers have reached double figures but fortunately, most of them have been players the club have already been keen to move on.
Dalot certainly isn’t one of those players and even if Ten Hag ends up signing a replacement, tying him down to a new deal will give the club security in terms of resell value.
