Gary Neville shocked by Man Utd star who was ‘average’ under Ruben Amorim

Gary Neville has been stunned by the transformation of new Manchester United hero Patrick Dorgu and says he looked ‘average’ under former manager Ruben Amorim.

Amorim sanctioned United’s £25m move for Dorgu at the start of 2025 but then watched his first signing struggle at Old Trafford.

Dorgu was signed to star in Amorim’s favoured wing-back system but largely underwhelmed and even attracted criticism from his own manager, who claimed he was ‘anxious’ on the ball.

Michael Carrick, who was appointed United caretaker boss shortly after Amorim’s sacking, has opted to use Dorgu in a more offensive position and the change has proved a masterstroke.

Dorgu scored just once under Amorim but has two in two games under Carrick, netting in United’s Manchester derby win and then in Sunday’s victory over leaders Arsenal.

Neville described Dorgu’s stunning strike to beat David Raya at the Emirates Stadium as ‘absolutely brilliant’ and said his resurgence ‘typifies’ United’s immediate progress under Carrick.

Discussing Dorgu’s performance on Sky Sports, Neville said: ‘Patrick Dorgu looked like such an average wing-back under Ruben Amorim.

‘Further forward he looks like a completely and utterly different player. It’s an unbelievable goal, a goal of a lifetime. What a hit, it’s a beauty.’

Discussing Dorgu further on his podcast, Old Trafford legend Neville added: ‘Look, to be fair I just thought he was a bit… (sighs)… at left wing-back.

‘You can’t really say anything bad about him because he’s a willing runner, he always wanted the ball and worked hard under Ruben Amorim.

‘But you thought, what is he? And how is he going to get man United back to where they need to be?

‘The first time we saw a glimpse of what he could be was actually under Amorim when he played him as a wide right.

‘I thought he could play a bit when he could play a bit higher up and had a player behind him, I thought he could be a good wide player and cause problems and get crosses in.

‘Then Amorim put him back at wing-back and you thought, oh no. Looking at him now he’s obviously a winger, he’s obviously a winger.

‘His goal was absolutely brilliant. Patrick Dorgu typifies what has happened at Manchester United in this last week.’

United’s impressive victories over Arsenal and Manchester City sends them back into the Champions League spots, above Liverpool and Chelsea.

Carrick also heaped praise on Dorgu after the Arsenal win and provided an update after he was forced off late on with an injury.

‘Pat’s been a big player for us,’ said Carrick, who has only been in charge of his former club for 13 days.

‘Obviously he’s scored two goals but in terms of the threat and athleticism and quality, he’s been immense down the side with Luke [Shaw] against two teams that ask a lot of questions.

‘I am delighted for him because the two goals he’s scored are very different goals. It’s nice to see him smiling and happy.

‘He obviously came off with, hopefully, a little bit of cramp, hopefully, it’s nothing worse. At this stage, it’s hard to tell, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Hopefully it’s not too bad.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.