Ruben Amorim makes a worrying admission about his first signing at Manchester United

Ruben Amorim has made a worrying admission about his first Manchester United signing Patrick Dorgu.

Denmark international Dorgu became Amorim’s first signing as United manager when he completed a £25 million move from Lecce in February 2025.

Amorim signed Dorgu in the hope he would become a key player in his favored 3-4-3 system, but the 21-year-old has struggled for consistency since arriving at Old Trafford.

Fellow defender Diogo Dalot has fared better at United, but his long-term future is unclear as he is not a natural full-back.

Amorim admitted ahead of Manchester United’s visit to Crystal Palace on Sunday that neither Dorgu nor Dalot were playing ‘at their best’ and said both had ‘more to give’.

But in a more worrying admission, Amorim suggested Dorgu felt ‘anxious’ every time he received the ball due to his stuttering career with the Red Devils.

“When I see them training, they do so much better than in competitions,” Amorim said.

“And Patrick, when I see him playing for the national team, he scored a great goal against Scotland [this month]the decision he made under pressure was completely different from the decisions he makes in our team.

‘Every time Patrick touches the ball you feel the fear [for Man United]. I feel it, the fear.’

‘I remember the shot he had against Everton [which he dragged wide. That was easier than the decision that he had to make [against] Scotland – and I saw it [his quality] when he played in Italy.

‘But again, here [United] is different and sometimes the pressure is hard for them at first, but he has time to improve.

‘I just need to understand the context when I try to help them [Dorgu and Dalot]. They are far from their best, and they know it.

‘Just like many players in our team, like me. I just look at them and think they have so much more to offer. So let’s see this week if we can improve on that.’

Manchester United, 12th in the table ahead of Sunday’s match against Selhurst Park, have scored 19 goals in 12 league games this season and kept just one clean sheet.

Asked for his thoughts on United’s poor defensive state, Amorim said: ‘We are very soft around the box.

‘So we have to improve that in the last games, especially against Nottingham [Forest, a 2-2 draw]. We allowed a lot of crosses, we didn’t press well [in] moments.

‘Against Everton they were with ten men [after 13 minutes] and we suffered the goal [Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s winner] with the only shot on target.

‘Of course we have to improve a lot. I don’t think the problem is about the defenders. It’s about the team and the way we sense the danger near our box.”

Manchester United’s next opponents, Crystal Palace, are sixth in the Premier League and could climb to third place with a win over Amorim’s side.

Palace were unbeaten in five games before suffering a disappointing Conference League defeat to Ligue 1 club Strasbourg this week.

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