Diogo Dalot says his chat with former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was the decisive factor in making his switch to Old Trafford.
The defender joined the Reds from Porto in 2019 for £19m before spending the 2020/21 season on loan at AC Milan. Dalot overtook Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the right-back pecking order towards the end of the following season and remained there for the first half of this campaign.
He played every game he was available for under Erik ten Hag before the World Cup but a resurgence from Wan-Bissaka, coupled with an injury post-tournament, has seen him lose his firm grip on the position.
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Dalot netted his first Premier League goal in Sunday’s 2-0 over Nottingham Forest where he deputised at left-back. He has grown during Ten Hag’s tenure and has two goals and assists to show for his efforts this season.
It’s been a notable journey for the 24-year-old, who told A Bola about the moment he decided to agree to a transfer to United nearly four years ago. “From the moment I had the conversation I had with ‘mister’ Mourinho, I think that, from then on, it was decisive,” he said.
“The way he planned my coming here, what I might be able to do and what he believed I could do… The way this conversation took place was decisive.” During his loan spell at Milan, international teammate Bruno Fernandes arrived United in January 2020.
The pair played significant roles in helping Portugal reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in December alongside former United striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who earmarked Dalot as one of the young United players who has the potential to have a quality career.
Dalot sang the praises of Fernandes ahead of United’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Sevilla, calling it a “pleasure” to pay with him. He added: “I think he has this ability to be fun when he has to be fun, demanding when he has to be, intense when he has to be…
“I think it is a pleasure to be able to work with players like that and to have shared several years with him also brings that good experience, and it has been very positive to work with him.”
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