Manchester United signed Patrick Dorgu this January (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Manchester United clearly weren’t taking no for an answer when they made their move to sign Patrick Dorgu from Lecce in this January’s transfer window.
The talented young Denmark international had impressed a great deal in Serie A, and it earned him a big move to Old Trafford this winter.
Dorgu was clearly a player Lecce wanted to keep for a bit longer, but it seems Man Utd were very strong with their approach for the talented 20-year-old.
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Discussing how the saga played out, Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani spoke about how United worked hard to get the deal done now, even though this was not a sale the club were planning to make.
It’s also clear that MUFC paid enough to make it a very significant piece of business for Lecce’s future.
How Manchester United sealed Patrick Dorgu transfer
“It is our record transfer and it happens in our moment of great economic health,” Damiani said, as quoted by the Metro.
“It was not a planned operation, it was not done to fill critical issues of the past. It brings us wealth from all points of view and the possibility of making technical and structural investments.
“We said several times that Dorgu would not leave in January, and now I will explain why the opposite happened.
“Manchester United arrived, who made themselves heard with us and with the boy’s entourage, receiving an official response from us that I leave here, in which we said that we had no intention of letting Dorgu leave in January. And not talking about figures, not asking for increases.
“This, instead of stopping United, had the opposite effect. Manchester insisted, we asked several times to postpone everything until the summer, also promising the young man that he would not miss the opportunity.
“For us too it was a historic step, we just wanted to do it in July. The English communicated to us their desire, the club and their coach, to be immediate.
“There was an ultimatum – ‘now or never’ – also giving this message to the player himself.
“You cannot judge Dorgu, you are 20 years old and Manchester United come to you with an offer like that. The combination of these factors led us to think that we would have gone from being consistent to being stupidly obstinate.”
United fans will be delighted with how hard their club pushed to get this deal done, and now it just remains to be seen how much of an impact Dorgu can have on the pitch.
The young left-back looks ideal for Ruben Amorim’s system, which makes use of wing-backs, while he should also be a major upgrade on the injury-prone Luke Shaw.
