We fully accept that with Manchester United transfers there is a huge temptation to beat everyone. Because a) transfers are so easy, b) making transfer decisions is always fun, and c) criticism of anything related to the Red Devils makes headlines.
But I would suggest that calling Patrick Dorg “rubbish” is a far worse reflection on Piotr Sadowski, who worked as a scout at United before his departure in August 2024, and on those who decided to rely on his input during his seven years at the club, than on Dorg himself or the man who made the wise decision to send Sadowski away.
Dorg was the first signing under Ruben Amorim, who arrived from Lecce in a £29.2m deal in the January transfer window, and when Sadowski was asked if the 21-year-old was an example of Amorim failing to build on him, he replied: “Yes.
“And he was signed for 30 million euros. To be honest, having recently worked at Blackburn Rovers and operating on a much lower transfer budget, I would have had no problem finding some players of Dorg’s level for Manchester United, but 30 million euros was not going to cut it, and we could have had four at most.”
The comments echo the anger of ex-employees, who were furious after refusing to accept Manchester United’s clear improvement in recruitment under Mr Amorim.
In search of a ‘misfire’ to prove a point, Matheus Cunha, Brian Mbeumo and Senne Lamence were all frustratingly competent to choose from, Benjamin Sesko has a chance of failing but it’s probably too early, and it’s entirely possible that Sadovski would have recommended a contract as United’s central European scout, leaving Dorg as the only option for that lazy and unfounded view.
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According to FBRef, against full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues this season, Dorg was in the 74th percentile for shot creation actions, the 79th percentile for key passes, the 81st percentile for progressive carries, and the 99th percentile for touches inside the opponent’s box.
For those crying foul over unfair comparisons due to Dorg playing wingback rather than fullback, he also ranks in the 86th percentile for interceptions and the 91st percentile for tackles won. He is inherently a good one-on-one defender, coming forward and creating chances regularly.
And these statistics don’t paint a different picture of Dorg than what we see when we watch Manchester United games, and I suspect Sadowski doesn’t. He is a talented young footballer and could be United’s long-term solution as a left wing-back. He might not either. Time will tell.
However, what makes him absolutely different is that he is a “bad guy.” And if Sadowski thinks he is, he is at a loss as to how many bad people he has made the Manchester United leadership sign in the seven years he has trawled the transfer market for talent he clearly couldn’t find.
