Manchester United’s interest in Patrick Dorgu highlights how fast the new Danish international has progressed. He made his debut in high football only last year, but Lecce’s leftist defender is already eager to take the next step in his career.
Lecce himself, firmly caught up in Serie A status for the third consecutive season, identified Dorg at the famous FC Nordsjaelland academy before he had penetrated. Even there, in FCN, there is pride and pleasure for the player’s development.
“Our good scouting saw it quickly,” says Alexander Riget, their technical director Sky Sports. It took Riget and the current Norwich City Johannes Hoff Thorup to make a trip to Jotland to see it. “From here are five hours by car.”
They saw something in Dorgu, only 12 years old at the time. He played “a year ago” on their U13 team, but was not a prominent star. He was always a good player, but it developed very well a little later, at the age of 16 or 17. ” He didn’t overcome much, he left.
“His trip is a little different from many of our other players. Normally, they play 50 to 100 games and then leave for a bigger club.” Is this frustrating? “No we were still a very important part of his journey. We are very happy about his situation at the moment.”
It was complicated. Martin Frese, now in Serie A with Verona, suffered an injury to the cross -crucified ligament that resulted in his stay in Nordsjaelland more than expected. Daniel Svensson, a 22-year-old International Swedish, remains with the club now.
“The road to that position was a little longer than usual, so I think for Patrick the step he took was the right one. Most of our players will come from the first team, but the reason we exist is the development of talent. If they make another way, we are still proud. “
Riget speaks warmly about Dorg’s family. His two brothers play, one of them is in Genoa and the other is a goalkeeper in the Lower Denmark leagues. His sister plays handball. Their parents born in Nigeria have supported them all the way, encouraging their education.
This is indispensable in Nordsjaelland, where great emphasis is placed on school education and development. “It means a lot to us.” Talent is the main reason why other clubs are looking for players from Nordsjaelland, but the mentality of their graduates is also important.
“I think he and his family have been the main reason for the place where he is now, but with our program we can say that we have facilitated the development of Patrick. We give them a very strong football education, but a large part is education of players away pitch.
‘Always focused’
“Patrick is obviously can be trained. He’s a very good listener. He is not a boy who speaks a lot. He is quite silent and you have to be a little patient when you ask questions because he is a thinker, so He must start before he means something.
“But he is a very determined player. He is always focused to be better. True football player. You know how it is nowadays with the younger players, they also have other interests, watching things in the iPad, playing FIFA, doing other things on social media.
“Patrick? Back and watch his social media about these kinds of things. There is not much. He just played football with his brothers. Whenever we were there for a training session, after finishing, he could not leave the field he just wanted to played.
“Another thing that says a lot about her is that I don’t remember having ever been damaged since it started with Nordsjaelland. That’s seven years in a row, which is very unusual. Of course, I think it also shows something about the way How he behaves.
That physical has become an important aspect of Dorg’s game when he was asked to get up and go down to the Lecce. “He enters the box, reaches crosses and this is related to his physical capacity, which has undoubtedly developed in recent years,” says Riget.
“But he has always been a good runner. He can travel a lot of distances and do it with high intensity. When he played for Nordsjaelland, we received reports from tracers and he was often one of the best and most the good.
‘Very flexible’
This helps to explain why Manchester United may have appointed it for the role of wing protector specialist. “He can play a lot of positions, but we always had an idea that he would become a arm or arm protector. He is suitable for that position,” Riget explains.
“But I think he is a player who can cover a lot of positions. When he was a young player, I had a game where he played as a striker, he played as a midfielder, as a leftist and full player. So , he is very flexible that fits well with modern football.
Character, endurance, physicality and flexibility. But can he play? Absolutely. Dorgu can beat an opponent by bursting toward the side line or even wait inside and shoot when playing from the right. There is a belief that he can afford the next step.
“With its technical level in small areas, I think it is very difficult to put it under pressure because it is very quiet in the ball and very good in narrow spaces. It is good even in dribble. Movement of the ball from the opponent.
‘A good teammate’
In Nordsjaelland, they still have a special interest in his progress. There is a sales clause. “We made a deal with Lecce when he moved. Of course, we are curious about how he will go with him.” But not just because of money. “Because he is one of us.”
Riget adds: “Ever since he moved to Italy, he has returned to the club many times. He is still a very good teammate for many of his friends in the 2004 age group. I see him in our facility, watching training From the window he wants to spend time with his old friends.
“We try to support it and our door is always open. He will always be part of our club. Maybe he will return to Nordsjaelland after he has been out for many years. But with the amount of money we are talking about here. It will not be for a long time. “
The adventure for Dorg has just begun, his two seasons in Serie A are just the beginning for the first boy in Jutland eight years ago. For the man who made that trip, there is no reason to think that the development in Dorg’s game is likely to stop soon.
“Look at his development in Lecce and Nordsjaelland before. I think it is the character we talked about, the way he is, how strong he is psychologically, not drawing in different directions, always being focused.
“I think if you see what he has been capable of over the past two years, I think it would be wrong to say he couldn’t do it any further because I think his progress has been very impressive. I think It will become a professional ball at the highest level. “