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Rumors of the past two days have linked Diogo Dalot with an exit from Manchester United. Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham are said to be interested in the right back, report O Jogo and The Sun.
At the moment, there is no decision to make, no offers received. Both reports indicate United is seeking up to £ 35 million for the young man.
This would be good business for a player who has made a single start in the Premier League this season due to a combination of injury, and the importance of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
What United cannot do is leave the team short, letting Wan-Bissaka’s best endorsement go when a typical season will involve more than 60 games in all competitions.
This is where young Ethan Laird comes in. Your task is to demonstrate that you can be a better backup than Dalot.
Great talent
Laird is a very good young player, and observers who watch the academy regularly believe he could be even better than first-team star Brandon Williams.
This season he saw Laird make his first-team debut in the Europa League, proving how well he is considered at just 18 years old. However, he hasn’t had a chance in 2020 since Dalot returned from injury.
This season and the last, Laird’s season has been hampered by injury. Last season he missed several months, and last season he had two separate spells on the sidelines.
This is due to bad luck, but some players are more prone to injury than others.
Ask Diogo Dalot, who has not been available for the start of his two seasons at Old Trafford so far.
Laird’s first job is to convince the coaching staff that he can be trusted and is more reliable than Dalot. So far, both are injury-prone, so the jury is out.
Have you made the leap forward?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision about Diogo Dalot will be guided by how advanced he considers Laird to be in his development.
After this unexpected break, have you taken the opportunity to come back stronger and fitter than ever?
Like Dalot, Laird is an attacking winger and offers something a little different than Wan-Bissaka. There should be room for two of them in the long run, but perhaps not for three.
Dalot seems to be the most likely type of fall, but for now United should not be in a hurry to get rid of it if Laird is deemed not quite ready.
United may choose to send Laird on a loan move next season, and keep Dalot for another year.
Dalot really can’t have a worse season than the one he just had, in which only one Premier League game started. If it even marginally improves on this, the interest should still be there in 2021, and United may lead Laird up to that point.
If United is truly impressed by the steps Laird has been taking in the past few weeks and months to come, a decision could be made to accelerate his path to first-team football and take advantage of interest in Dalot.
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