Nene Dorgeles: Manchester United’s Interest in Salzburg Star | OneFootball

With the absence of players that suit a Ruben Amorim system, Manchester United are left struggling. An Amorim player is a profile that suits the system of a 3-4-3, has the ability of the role required and has versatility.

This is why there is excitement that the Red Devils have expressed their interest in Nene Dorgeles, who is versatile and can fulfil two roles in the team: attacking midfield and left wing back.

Manchester United have plans to pursue RB Salzburg’s Nene Dorgeles, a Malian 22-year-old winger. Nene has 6 G/A in the league this season, maintaining an average rating of 7.18 (FotMob). The winger is being monitored by the club, and initial talks took place to discuss the package/fee.

So who is Nene Dorgeles?

Who is Nene Dorgeles?

Nene Dorgeles is a right-footed 22-year-old Malian winger who began his career at RB Salzburg, making his senior debut in February of 2021, whilst on loan at FC Liefering. Following this successful spell, he was loaned out two more times, being emphatic in the Austrian Second Division and Belgium Pro League.

He then returned to Salzburg in 2023 and broke into the first team, showcasing his talent and football intelligence. This led to a call-up for Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, which saw Nene score 2 goals in the qualifiers and 1 goal in the quarterfinals against Ivory Coast. Dorgeles has an eye for goal and is direct, creative, technical, and intelligent on and off the ball with a brilliant work rate.

But what will he do for Manchester United?

Profile of Nene Dorgless

Nene Dorgeles is a direct, explosive, and creative winger for Salzburg and operates near the by-line, taking advantage of his tidy footwork and explosive pace. Nene is not a one-dimensional player by any means and his heatmap shows he also spends the majority of time on the edge of the box (left side), which is a similar position a left attacking midfielder (LAM) would hold in attack.

All in the same game, we also see Nene operate heavily wide at the halfway line and cover ground tracking back, which shows his ability to perform as a left wing back (LWB) and LAM.

Which Positions will Dorgless occupy?

Manchester United is in dire need of a new left wing back. Especially with the likely exit of Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw being injury-prone. Dorgeles’s outstanding pace, quality dribbling, and creativity give him many important qualities needed for LWB.

Since the arrival of Ruben Amorim, it has been evident Manchester United no longer plays with traditional wingers; instead, the Red Devils opt for two wide 10s.

If Manchester United were to bring in a typical left wing back, we could see Nene Dorgeles used primarily at the left-sided 10; this would be more natural for Nene due to being a left winger, in contrast to LWB.

The Thinking Behind Signing Nene Dorgless

If this signing is pursued, we can infer that the pre-thinking behind this is for Dorgeles to come in as a squad player who can cover both roles of LWB and LAM, whilst also continuing to develop and allow for Amorim to have more quality and profile of players he desires.

Throughout United’s key players and transfer list, the quality links to be able to play Wing Back as well as attacking midfield. In other positions of the squad, it is evident the key players are also the most versatile, e.g., Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo, and Noussar Mazraoui. This shows the profile of players that Ruben Amorim wants at Manchester United, and with Nene Dorgeles’s versatility, this transfer makes much sense in the preference Ruben has for his players.

This transfer shows a style of recruitment at Manchester United in quality young players that are wanted and fit the system with low transfer fees and wages abiding by PSR, instead of big-name signings with high fees that do not complement the project being built.