Dalot nearly joined Milan permanently from Man Utd

FT Desk

10 Sept 2022 04:00 BST
3 min read

Should Manchester United sell Diogo Dalot to Milan? — © ProShots

Diogo Dalot has been one of the surprise packages under Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United so far this season, but the Portuguese right-back admits that it could have turned out very differently…

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Dalot joined United from Porto for €21.7 million in the summer of 2018 with then-manager Jose Mourinho describing his compatriot as "the best full-back in Europe" in his age group.

But first-team opportunities were at a premium in his early seasons at Old Trafford, and Dalot was allowed to leave on loan for AC Milan at the start of the 2020/21 season.

⚽ Best Goal of the 2020/21 Season 🔝
The second quarter-final with Ante’s jaw-dropper 😲 and Dalot’s gem 💎
Which one deserves the semis?

Continuano i Quarti con la magia di Rebić 😲 e la perla di @DalotDiogo 💎
Chi merita la Semifinale? #SempreMilan @emirates pic.twitter.com/yPEkSdeklD
— AC Milan (@acmilan) June 18, 2021

Dalot made 33 appearances in all competitions for the Rossoneri as was integral to them finishing as runners-up to city rivals Inter in that season's Serie A.

No purchase option was mentioned at the time, but Dalot has since admitted that he thought about making the loan deal permanent.

Dalot 'loved the season' with Milan

"Milan are a great club and I loved the season with the Rossoneri," he told Italian media. "But it wasn't just up to me. In the end I decided to stay at United and it was the right decision.

"If I'm a better defender I owe it to Milan. Italian football is different from the Premier League, and I had to adapt in just one year and playing in Serie A has helped me a lot.

"Over the past two years here in Manchester, the minutes have increased and, consequently, so has my self-esteem."

Dalot has started all six of United's Premier League games this season, helping them to a recent four-game winning streak which has included the scalps of Liverpool and Arsenal.

Once the third choice behind Ashley Young and Aaron Wan-Bisakka, Dalot is now one of the first names on Ten Hag's team sheet.

Young left for Inter in January 2020 and now turns out for Aston Villa, while Wan-Bisakka, a £50m arrival from Crystal Palace in 2019, has been reduced to four minutes of Premier League football such is Dalot's form.