Carrick Considers Dorgu as New Signing for Left-Back Position

Manchester United’s search for left-back cover didn’t end with a late deal. It might end on the training pitch instead.

With the transfer window closing on Tuesday night and pursuits of Alejandro Balde and Rayan Ait-Nouri going nowhere, Michael Carrick is left with Luke Shaw as his only specialist left-back. Behind him? A patchwork of possibilities – and one intriguing solution in Patrick Dorgu.

Carrick has already hinted the 21-year-old Dane could be repurposed, describing his return from injury as “almost like a new signing.”

“He can certainly play there. He has done, without doubt,” Carrick said when asked about using Dorgu at left-back. “I’m not sitting here saying he can’t do that. It’s just the way we’ve been since I’ve been here.”

United paid £25million to prise Dorgu from Lecce in January 2025, when he was operating as a left-back in Serie A. Ruben Amorim had used him as a wing-back before that, but under Carrick he has only been seen higher up the pitch.

He started on the wing at Hull City on the opening day of the season, then dropped to the bench for the win over Ipswich. In total, he has made just four starts under Carrick, his progress stalled by a significant hamstring injury that wiped out a large part of last season.

That lay-off is one reason Carrick talks about him with the enthusiasm usually reserved for a fresh arrival.

“He actually has been injured, unfortunately, for some time,” the United boss said. “You could almost argue that he played three or four times for us last season, so for me, he’s almost like a new player, you know, to have, and it’s almost like a new signing in some ways because he’s added so much to the group.”

Dorgu has already shown his range. Carrick has liked him as a left-winger. Denmark have pushed him out to the right, where he scored a superb goal in June’s internationals from that flank in a forward role.

“He's played off the right for Denmark, scored a great goal in the summer playing off the right in a forward position,” Carrick said. “He can play left-back. He's that type where he can do a number of things. I'm certainly not saying he can't do that at all.”

Right now, the squad is stacked with wide players. It is not stacked with full-backs. That imbalance could drag Dorgu back towards the defensive line as the season wears on.

“It's something he can, we just haven't had to explore that,” Carrick added. “At some point, we might have to, at some point he might do that. He can do that, absolutely no problem. There are times in training when he does it.

“And then he's only young, being such a young age and having the attributes that he's got, we've just got to keep trying to get the most out of him.”

United went into deadline day looking for a left-back and came out with none. Carrick might now discover the answer was already in his dressing room – a £25million winger, a Denmark international, and, if needed, the next man up to guard Shaw’s flank.