Arsenal youth product takes Dorgu to Man Utd

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 26 Jan 2025 03:37 CST
• 3 min read

A former Arsenal youth product could be the key to Patrick Dorgu finally completing his move to Man Utd.

The Red Devils have been in exhaustive talks with Serie A side Lecce over Dorgu in the last week or so.

Man Utd have met with Lecce to discuss a deal and they have tabled at least two formal offers.

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Their first bid clocked in at around €27 million, while the subsequent proposal was worth around €30m-€34m, which is still a little short of Lecce's €40m valuation.

Man Utd have started to tire at the slow progress of the talks but a former Arsenal youth product could come to the rescue for them.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Lecce are in talks to sign Hearts full-back Daniel Oyegoke, who would be a replacement for Dorgu.

Hearts manager Neil Critchley left Oyegoke out of his squad this weekend due to an offer being received from Lecce for the player.

The 22-year-old is a former Arsenal academy player who also played for MK Dons and Brentford.

Should Lecce complete the deal, it suggests they are ready to soften their stance in talks to sell Dorgu to Man Utd.

Man Utd don't have a lot of money to spend this month due to concerns over Profit and Sustainability Rules, so a move for Dorgu would be a big outlay on the 20-year-old and it would have to be paid for by outgoings.

United are in talks to offload the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford this month.

Dorgu at Lecce

Dorgu was born Copenhagen and came through the youth academy at Nordsjaelland before joining Lecce as a 17-year-old in 2022.

He has since made 56 appearances for Lecce, scoring five goals.

A very versatile player, the youngster can play on either side at full back but also further forward on the wing or even in midfield.

Of Nigerian descent, Dorgu has been capped four times by Denmark, scoring one goal.