Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford since he replaced Erik ten Hag in the dugout back in November.
The Portuguese boss has lost eight, and only won four, of his 15 matches in charge of the club in the Premier League, whilst his latest result was the 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.
Amorim has not been given too much to work with, though, as the Red Devils only made one significant addition in the January transfer window last month.
Manchester United swooped to sign 20-year-old left wing-back Patrick Dorgu from Serie A side Lecce for a reported fee of £25m to bolster the manager's wide options.
Patrick Dorgu's form for Lecce
The Denmark international, who has only played two Premier League matches for United so far, started 21 matches in the Italian top-flight during the first half of the season.
Dorgu provided a decent threat as an attacking force for Lecce with a return of three goals, one assist, and one 'big chance' created from a left-back position.
He also made 3.0 tackles and interceptions per game and won 53% of his duels in total, which shows that the young talent offered quality in and out of possession for the Serie A side.
The Danish whiz will now be hoping to translate his qualities on and off the ball to the Premier League in the second half of this season to help improve Amorim's side's form in the division.
Manchester United, however, may have already fumbled an even bigger left-back talent than Dorgu when they decided to cash in on Spanish defender Alvaro Carreras to Benfica last summer.
The 21-year-old defender joined the Red Devils from Real Madrid in 2020 and enjoyed loan spells with Preston, Granada, and Benfica, before his permanent exit last year.
Alvaro Carreras' form this season
Benfica reportedly paid a fee of just £5m to sign him permanently and it was claimed in January that Real Madrid were interested in the defender, whose price tag has now soared to more than £40m.
That, immediately, suggests that United must regret cashing in on him for a fee of £5m as his current club believes that he is worth more than six times as much less than a year later.
The former Manchester United youngster's form in the Portuguese top-flight this season, when compared to Dorgu's in Italy, also suggests that he is even better than the £25m-rated January addition.
| Appearances | 21 | 22 |
| Assists | 1 | 1 |
| Dribbled past per game | 1x | 0.6x |
| Tackles + interceptions per game | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| Ground duel success rate | 52% | 55% |
| Aerial duel success rate | 57% | 58% |
As you can see in the table above, Carreras has been in fantastic form in the Liga Portugal for Benfica, winning the majority of his defensive duels whilst rarely being dribbled past by opposition players.
He could have been an even better option for Amorim, given his defensive superiority and similar levels of creativity, if Erik ten Hag had not already sold him last year.
Jacek Kulig described him as a "monster in the making" earlier this season, and he is a 'monster' United have missed out on, selling him on the cheap only to go on to pay £25m for a player who does not appear to be an upgrade on the Spaniard.
The Red Devils must, therefore, regret cashing in on him and Amorim must be frustrated that he did not get the chance to work with him, given his form this season.
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