Even before Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred, Manchester United could make emerging Porto defender Diogo Dalot their first signing of the summer after reportedly agreeing to trigger his €20m (£17m) release clause.
Little is known about the youngster so far, but here’s a look at some key information about him you’ll want to brush up on:
5. He’s Still Only a Teenager
Dalot only turned 19 years of age in March and his career is still just starting out. It wasn’t until October 2017 that he made his first team debut for Porto and until February had spent much of the 2017/18 campaign with the club’s B team.
Dalot finished the season with eight senior appearances to his name.
He had just manage to establish himself as a Primeira Liga starter, though, and it was only injury that ruled him out of the final seven games of the campaign.
4. He Won’t Be a Regular for a While Yet
Given his age and almost total lack of senior experience, Dalot is very much considered a prospect for the future at Old Trafford.
He is not being signed to immediately replace Antonio Valencia as starting right-back and fans might not see much of him at all for at least a couple of years as he settles into a new life in England.
As an understudy to begin with, Dalot will have opportunity to grow and learn at Old Trafford away from the bright glare of the spotlight.
The only thing that would force him into action sooner would be an injury crisis that necessitates he be thrown in at the deep end, as was the case with an 18-year-old Rafael da Silva in 2008.
3. He Has Lots of International Experience
Dalot has been playing junior international football for Portugal since 2014 when he first turned out for his country’s Under-15 team. In the years since, he has amassed a total of 55 appearances for his country across various youth levels.
Most recently, Dalot made his debut for Portugal at Under-21 level last year.
He has already tasted international success too, winning the Under-17 European Championship in 2016, even scoring Portugal’s only goal in the final that was drawn 1-1. He also then converted from the spot in the penalty shootout that followed.
2. He Knows Where the Goal Is
For someone who is a defender by trade, Dalot appears to have a good goalscoring record. As already mentioned, he scored in the 2016 Under-17 European Championship final, but he had scored once already in that tournament as well.
In the 2017/18 UEFA Youth League, the youngster scored twice in five games and finished the season with a total of four goals in all competitions.
He is even better at providing assists, laying on eight goals for teammates. Three of those came while in action for the senior Porto team, in Primeira Liga and Taça de Portugal games.
1. He’s Versatile
As it may be able to tell from his goal and assist record, Dalot is not simply a conventional right-back and can occupy several positions on both sides of the pitch. All of his appearances in the UEFA Youth League this season were as a right-back.
But when he played 90 minutes of the 0-0 draw against Liverpool in the Champions League in March it was as a left-back instead. Dalot can also play further up the field and most of his games for Porto B in 2017/18 came as either a right or left sided winger.
And that versatility and experience of different roles will be hugely beneficial for development and learning in these early stages of his career.
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