Manchester United star hails Erik ten Hag after promising start to the season | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag has enjoyed a good start to life at Manchester United and one of the most impressive aspects to the Dutchman’s first three months in charge has been how he has improved some players.

Diogo Dalot certainly sticks out in that aspect – the Portuguese international looks like a completely different player under Ten Hag after several years on the periphery under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian boss always preferred Aaron Wan-Bissaka and on some occasions, outcast defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah was preferred to Dalot.

That’s not the case anymore as Dalot started every single competitive game this season until he was ruled out of the game against Fulham due to suspension.

Now, speaking before he left Manchester to take part in this winter’s World Cup, Dalot has hailed the manager for the confidence the former Ajax coach has given him.

“The confidence that he has given to me, it shows the work that I have been doing as well,” Dalot told the official Manchester United website.

“I have been trying to give it back to him, the confidence that he’s been giving me since the beginning of the season.

“with him, there’s a lot of space for improvement. He’s a manager that demands a lot from the players. This is the way that I like to work so I think it’s a good match.

“It just brings me more responsibility to keep improving and try to be a better player.”

Dalot has completely ousted Wan-Bissaka on that right-hand side but the focus will soon turn to renew his contract. He has just over six months remaining on his existing deal and amid his sparkling form, some of Europe’s elite clubs will be circling.

Dalot joined United from Porto in 2018 but is now starting to show why Jose Mourinho was desperate to bring him to Old Trafford four years ago.