Manchester United’s curiosity in Patrick Dorgu highlights how shortly the younger Denmark worldwide has progressed. He solely made his debut in senior soccer final yr however the Lecce left-back is already eager to take the following step in his profession.
Lecce themselves, clinging determinedly to their Serie A standing for a 3rd season in a row, recognized Dorgu in FC Nordsjaelland’s famed academy earlier than he had even damaged by way of. There too, at FCN, there’s satisfaction and satisfaction on the participant’s improvement.
“Our good scouting spotted him quite fast,” Alexander Riget, their technical director, tells Sky Sports activities. It required Riget and the present Norwich Metropolis head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup to make the journey to Jutland to see him. “It is a five-hour drive from here.”
They noticed one thing in Dorgu, simply 12 years previous on the time. He performed “one year up” of their U13 group however 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.” Earlier than lengthy, he was gone.
“His journey is a little different from many of our other players. Normally, they play 50 to 100 games and then leave for a bigger club.” Is that irritating? “No, we were still a very important part of his journey. We are very happy about his situation at the moment.”
It was difficult. Martin Frese, now additionally in Serie A with Verona, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament harm that resulted in him staying at Nordsjaelland longer than anticipated. Daniel Svensson, a 22-year-old Sweden worldwide, stays with the membership now.
“The pipeline in that position was a little longer than usual so I think for Patrick the step that he took was the right one. Most of our players will come through the first team but the reason we exist is talent development. If they take another path, we are still proud.”
Riget speaks warmly of Dorgu’s household. His two brothers play, one in every of them is at Genoa and the opposite is a goalkeeper in Denmark’s decrease leagues. His sister performs handball. Their Nigerian-born dad and mom have supported all of them the best way, encouraging their training.
That’s crucial at Nordsjaelland, the place big emphasis is positioned on education and character improvement. “It means a lot to us.” Expertise is the first cause different golf equipment look to Nordsjaelland for gamers, however the mentality of their graduates is critical too.
“I think him and his family have been the main reason for where he is now, but with our programme we can say that we facilitated Patrick’s development. We give them a very strong football education but a big part of it is educating players away from the pitch.
‘Always focused’
“Patrick is unquestionably coachable. He’s an excellent listener. He isn’t a man who speaks rather a lot. He’s fairly silent and it’s important to be slightly affected person if you find yourself asking questions as a result of he’s a thinker, so he must get began earlier than he’s going to say one thing.
“But he is a very determined player. He has always focused on being better. A real football player. You know how it is nowadays with younger players, they also have other interests, watching things on their iPad, playing FIFA, doing other things, social media.
“Patrick? Return and have a look at his social media for these sort of issues. There’s not rather a lot. He simply performed soccer along with his brothers. Each time we had been on the market for a coaching session, after it was over, I couldn’t get him off the pitch. He simply wished to play.
“Another thing that says a lot about him is that I cannot remember him ever being injured since he started with Nordsjaelland. That is seven years in a row, which is very unusual. Of course, I think that also says something about how he treats his body.”
That physicality has grow to be an essential side of Dorgu’s sport when requested to rise up and down the flank at Lecce. “He gets in the box, arrives for crosses, and that is linked to his physical capacity, which has definitely developed in recent years,” says Riget.
“But he has always been a good runner. He can cover a lot of distance and do it with high intensity. When he played for Nordsjaelland, we got the reports from the trackers and he was often one of those with the best and the highest physical numbers.”
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The Switch Speak panel talk about if Dorgu might match into Ruben Amorim’s system
‘Very versatile’
It helps to clarify why Manchester United might need earmarked him for that specialist wing-back position. “He can play a lot of positions but we always had an idea that he would become a full-back or a wing-back. He is a good fit for that position,” explains Riget.
“But I do 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. So he is very flexible. That fits well with modern football.”
Character, robustness, physicality and suppleness. However can he play? Completely. Dorgu can beat an opponent by bursting in direction of the byline and even reduce inside and hearth off a shot when enjoying from the correct. There’s a perception that he can deal with the following step up.
“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 good at dribbling as well. Moving the ball away from the opponent’s feet is a trademark for him.”
Lecce left-back Dorgu has had extra touches within the field than another Serie A defender
‘An excellent team-mate’
At Nordsjaelland, they nonetheless have a vested curiosity in his progress. A sell-on clause is in place. “We made an agreement with Lecce when he moved. Of course, we are curious how it will go with him.” However not simply due to the cash. “Because he is one of our own.”
Riget provides: “Since he moved to Italy, he has been back to the club many times. He is still a very good team-mate to many of his friends in the 2004 age group. I see him at our facility, watching training from the window. He wants to spend time with his old friends.
“We attempt to help him and our door is at all times open. He’ll at all times be part of our membership. Perhaps he’ll return to Nordsjaelland after he has been overseas for a few years. However with the sum of money we’re speaking about right here, it won’t be for a very long time.”
Dorgu has been praised for his physicality, flexibility and robustness
The journey for Dorgu is simply starting, his two seasons in Serie A simply the beginning for the boy noticed in Jutland eight years in the past. For the person who took that highway journey, there is no such thing as a cause to assume that the event in Dorgu’s sport is prone to cease any time quickly.
“Look at his development at Lecce and Nordsjaelland before that. I think it is that character that we talked about, the way that he is, how strong he is from a psychological perspective, not getting dragged in different directions, always being focused.
“I feel in the event you see what he has been able to over the past couple of years, I feel it could be improper to say that he can not make it additional as a result of I feel his development has been very spectacular. I feel he’ll grow to be a high skilled on the highest stage.”
