Diogo Dalot ready for 'run in the side' and backs Man Utd for top-four finish
Diogo Dalot says he is now ready for a “run in the side” and is confident Manchester United will finish in the Premier League’s top-four after making his first league start in the 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal.
The performance of the 19-year-old Portuguese defender even led manager Jose Mourinho to declare that United had found their right-back for the next 10 years.
Mourinho said that Dalot, who he signed from Porto for £19 million in the summer, could be the successor to Gary Neville in holding down the position in the United side for a decade.
Dalot has been eased into the first-team and after making his debut in the Champions League in September also played in the EFL Cup before coming on as a substitute in the draw away to Southampton last Saturday.
“I feel ready now for a run in the side and as long as the coach needs me I will be ready for him,” Dalot said after the draw against Arsenal which, nevertheless, left United languishing in eighth place and eight points outside the top four.
Dalot said the players know they have ground to make up – starting with Saturday’s home match against bottom-placed Fulham for which he hopes to keep his place ahead of club captain Antonio Valencia.
“As a team we need to develop every single game. The spirit and fight is there and we will get there,” Dalot claimed.
“Fulham is a big game now. One of the things I have noticed in England is that there are no weak games in the Premier League. There is no game in which you can relax. We need the points to climb the table.
“We sleep thinking about getting into the top four and we wake thinking about getting into the top four. For sure we will get there. It is our main goal for now to get into the top four and I think we will get there.”
Dalot also paid tribute to Mourinho for the faith he has shown in him. “Jose Mourinho brings all his experience and knowledge of the game to us all, not just me,” he said of his fellow Portuguese. “He is one of the best coaches ever and for me it is a dream come true to be alongside him and to learn from him.”
Meanwhile Marouane Fellaini will not face any retrospective action after pulling the hair of Arsenal’s Matteo Guendouzi during Wednesday’s game because referee Andre Marriner gave a free-kick.
Fellaini can possibly count himself fortunate not to be banned. Leicester City’s Robert Huth was punished with a three-game ban for pulling Fellaini’s hair in 2016 – with Fellaini also ruled out for three games for elbowing the defender during the incident.
