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Patrice Evra believes Diogo Dalot has been Manchester United’s most constant participant this season.
Chatting with Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, Evra praised the 25-year-old fullback for being a “fixed participant, with nice regularity.”
United’s season has been devastated by an nearly unprecedent harm disaster with just about each participant in Erik ten Hag’s squad being dominated out at numerous phases by harm or sickness. Over the course of the yr, there have been over 60 completely different particular person instances, with key gamers like Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw struggling a number of long-term absences.
No workforce within the league has suffered extra ‘time-loss accidents’ than United (a time-loss harm is outlined as one which ends in a participant lacking at the very least one harm), with solely Chelsea and Newcastle coming shut – two groups who’ve additionally underperformed within the league, relative to expectation.
Ten Hag has in contrast the impact of this unrelenting harm record to that of “swimming together with your arms tied behind your again”.
Dalot has confirmed to be a uncommon buoyancy support to his supervisor with the Portuguese fullback one of many solely gamers to not fall sufferer to harm at Previous Trafford this season.
In consequence, the 25 yr outdated has been an ever current within the beginning eleven with solely Andre Onana taking part in extra minutes than him this season – a testomony to the Portuguese worldwide’s sturdiness as goalkeeper will invariably high this statistic as a result of much less strenuous nature of their place.
However Dalot has not merely performed each recreation, he has largely performed properly inside this demanding schedule, even when surrounded by a disjointed and patched up defensive unit, as he has been in most video games (Ten Hag revealed final week he had been pressured to discipline “32 completely different backlines” following the 4-0 loss to Crystal Palace with a centre-back pairing of Casemiro and Jonny Evans).
Which is why Evra is right when he singles out Dalot as United’s Mr Constant this season.
“For me, Diogo Dalot is a continuing participant, with nice regularity. What I like most once I watch him play is the power he places on the sector, he at all times desires to rise up the pitch and by no means provides up, and that’s why in my view he has been Manchester United’s most common participant this season.
“Even in video games the place the workforce didn’t achieve this properly, he at all times demonstrated his high quality. He has unbelievable bodily energy and isn’t afraid to face 1-1 and even 2-1 conditions, he at all times accepts the problem. For me, these are the basic traits {that a} full-back ought to have.”
“Moreover, Diogo is an excellent individual and a humble boy”, Evra concluded.
The previous United star, who arrived at Previous Trafford on the identical age as Dalot solely turned a couple of months in the past, went on to turn into the most effective fullbacks in Europe and a key a part of a interval of unbelievable success on the membership after a forgettable begin to life in England.
Whereas Dalot suffered the same expertise in Manchester following his transfer from Porto, he will likely be hoping he can proceed to comply with in Evra’s footsteps and construct on his progress this season.
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