Patrick Dorgu’s man Ut utd transfer? The making of the Lecce and Denmark left back at FC Nordsjaelland explained | Football news

Manchester United’s interest in Patrick Dorga highlights how quickly the Young Dansko International has progressed. He only made his debut in senior football last year, but the Lecce left-back is already looking to take the next step in his career.

Lecce, resolutely clinging to their Serie A status for the third consecutive season, identified Dorga at FC Nordsjaelland’s renowned academy before breaking through. There is also pride and satisfaction at FCN due to the development of players.

“Our good scouting spotted him pretty quickly,” says Alexander Riget, their technical director, Sky Sports. Riget and current Norwich City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup demanded a trip to Jutland to see him. “It’s a five hour drive from here.”

They saw something in Dorgu, then only 12 years old. He played “a year up” in their U13 team but was not a standout star. “He was always a good player, but he developed very well a little later, at the age of 16 or 17.” Before he was gone.

“His journey is a bit different to a lot of our other players. They usually play 50 to 100 games and then go to a bigger club.” Is it frustrating? “No, we were still a very important part of his journey. We are very happy with his situation right now.”

It was tricky. Martin Frese, now also in Serie A with Verona, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which resulted in him spending longer than expected in Nordsjaelland. Daniel Svensson, the 22-year-old Swedish international, is now staying with the club.

“The pipeline in that position was a bit longer than usual, so I think for Patrick the step he took was the right one. Most of our players will come through the first team, but the reason we exist is to develop talent. If they take the other Path, they still we are proud.”

Riget speaks warmly of Dorgu’s family. His two brothers play, one of them is in Genoa and the other is a goalkeeper in the lower leagues of Denmark. His sister plays handball. Their Nigerian-born parents supported them all the way, encouraging their education.

This is imperative in Nordsjaelland, where great emphasis is placed on education and character development. “It means a lot to us.” Talent is the main reason other clubs look at Nordsjaelland for players, but the mentality of their graduates is also significant.

“I think he and his family are the main reason for where he is now, but with our program we can say we facilitated Patrick’s development. We give them a very strong football education, but a big part of that is educating the players away from the pitch.

‘Always focused’

“Patrick is definitely important. He’s a very good listener. He’s not a guy who talks a lot. He’s quite quiet and you have to be a little patient when you ask questions because he’s a thinker, so you have to start before he says anything.

“But he’s a very determined player. He’s always focused on getting better. Really football player. You know how it is with younger players today, they also have other interests, watching things on their iPad, playing FIFA, doing other things, social media.

“Patrick? Go back and look at his social media for stuff like this. Not much. He was just playing football with his brothers. Every time we were there at practice, after it was over, I couldn’t get him off the field.

“The other thing that says a lot about him is that I can’t remember him ever being injured since he started with Nordsjaelland. That’s seven years in a row, which is very unusual. Of course, I think that also says something about how he goes about treating his body.”

That physicality became an important aspect of Dorgu’s game when he asked you to get up and down the flank at Lecce. “He gets into the box, he gets crosses, and that’s linked to his physical capacity, which has definitely developed in recent years,” says Riget.

“But he’s always been a good runner. He can cover a long distance and do it with high intensity. When he played for Nordsjaelland, we got reports from trackers and he was often one of those who had the best and highest physical numbers.”

‘Very flexible’

It helps explain why Manchester United could move him for that specialist wing role. “He can play a lot of positions, but we always had the idea that he would become a full-back or a winger.

“But I think he is a player who can cover a lot of positions. When he was a young player, I had a game where he played as a striker, he played as a midfielder, as a left winger and as a full-back. He is very flexible.

Character, robustness, physicality and flexibility. But can he play? Absolutely. Dorgu can beat the opposition by bursting towards the line or even cut inside and fire a shot when playing from the right. There is a belief that he can handle the next step.

“With his technical level in small areas, I think it is very difficult to put him under pressure, because he is very calm on the ball and very good in tight spaces. He is also good at dribbling. Moving the ball away from the opponent, his feet are his trademark.”

‘Good teammate’

In Nordsjaelland they still have an interest in his progress. A sale clause is in place. “We made an agreement with Lecce when he moved. Of course, we are curious how it will go with him.” But not only for money. “Because he’s one of ours.”

Riget adds: “Since he moved to Italy, he has returned to the club several times. He is still a very good teammate of many of his friends in the age group of 2004. I see him in our facility, watching training from the window.

“We try to support him and our door is always open. He will always be part of our club. Maybe he will return to Nordsjaelland after being abroad for many years. But with the amount of money we are talking about here, It won’t be for a long time. “

The adventure for Dorga is just beginning, his two seasons in Serie A is just the beginning for the boy spotted in Jutland eight years ago. For a man on the road, there’s no reason to think that the development in Dorgu’s game is likely to stop anytime soon.

“Look at his development in Lecce and Nordsjaelland before that. I think that’s the character we’ve talked about, how strong he is from a psychological perspective, not pulled in different directions, always focused.

“I think if you see what he’s been capable of over the last few years, I think it would be wrong to say he can’t do it further because I think his progress has been very impressive. I think he’s going to become a top professional at the highest level.”