Manchester United's interest in Patrick Dorga highlights how quickly the young Denmark international has progressed. He only debuted in senior football last year, but the Lecce left back is already looking to take the next step in his career.
Lecce themselves, clinging to their series status for the third season in a row, identified Dorga in the famous FC Nordsjaelland Academy before he even broke. It's also at FCN, there's pride and satisfaction in player development.
“Our good scouting spotted him pretty quickly,” says Alexander Riget, their technical director, speaking Sky Sports. It takes rigi and the current generator of the city of Norwich Johannes Hoff Thorup to make a trip to Jutland to see it. “It's a five-hour drive from here.”
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They saw something in Dorg, only 12 years old at the time. He played “a year up” in his U13 team, but was not a star break. “He was always a good player, but he developed very well later, at the age of 16 or 17.” He left before long.
“His journey is a bit different to a lot of our other players. They normally play 50 to 100 games and then leave for a bigger club.” Is it frustrating? “No, we were still a very important part of his journey. We are very happy with his situation at this time.”
It was tricky. Martin Frese, now also in Serie A with Verona, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which resulted in him staying in Nordsjaelland longer than expected. Daniel Svensson, the 22-year-old Sweden international, is now staying with the club.
“The pipeline in that position was a little longer than usual, so I think the step Patrick took was the right one. Most of our players will go through the first team, but the reason they exist for me is the reason of talent. If they take the second Path, we are still proud.”
Rigit speaks warmly of the Dorgu family. His two brothers play, one of them is in Genoa and the other is a goalkeeper in the lower leagues of Denmark. His sister plays handball. Their Nigerian-born parents supported them all the way, encouraging their education.
This is imperative in Nordsjaelland, where a huge emphasis is placed on education and character development. “It means a lot to us.” Talent is the main reason other clubs look at Nordsjaelland for players, but the mentality of their graduates is also significant.
“I think his family was the main reason for where he is now, but with our program we can say that we facilitated Patrick's development. We give them a very strong football education, but a large part of it is the education from which the players are educated away from the pitch.
'Always Focused'
“Patrick is definitely trained. He's a very good listener. He's not a guy who talks a lot. He's quite quiet and you have to be a little patient when he's a thinker, so he thought, so he thought start before he says anything.
“But he is a very determined player. He has always focused on getting better. Real football Player. You know how it is with younger players today, they have other interests, watching things on their iPad, playing FIFA, doing other things, social media.
“PATRICK? Go back and look at his social media for stuff like that. Not much. He was just playing football with his brothers. Every time we were at practice, after it was over, I couldn't get him off the field. He just wanted to play .
. his body. “
That physicality became an important aspect of Dorgu's game when asked to get up and down the flank at Lecce. “He gets into the box, reaches for crosses and that is linked to his physical capacity, which he has definitely developed in recent years,” says Rigit.
“But he has always been a good runner. He can cover a lot of distance and do it with high intensity. When he played for Nordsjaelland, we got reports from tracking and he was often one of those with the best and highest physical numbers.”
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The transfer panel is debating whether Dorgu can fit into Ruben Amorim's system
'Very flexible'
It helps explain why Manchester United might single him out for that specialist wing role. “He can play a lot of positions, but we always had the idea that he would become a full-back or a wing-back. He fits well in that role,” explains Rigiju.
“But I think he is a player who can cover a lot of positions. When he was a young player, I had a game where he played as a striker, he played as a midfielder, as a left winger and as a full-back. He is so very flexible. It fits well with modern football.”
Character, robustness, physicality and flexibility. But is it playable? Absolutely. Dorgu can beat the opponent by shooting to the banline or even cut inside and release a shot when playing from the right. There is a belief that he can handle the next step.
“With his technical levels in small areas, it is very difficult to put him under pressure because he is very calm on the ball and very good in tight spaces. He is also good at dribbling. Moving the ball away from the opponent's feet is his trademark.”
Lecce Left-Back Dorgu had more touches in the box than any other series of defenders
'Good team mate'
In Nordsjaelland they still have an interest in his progress. A sale clause is in effect. “We agreed with Lecce when he moved. Of course, we are curious how it will go with him.” But not only for money. “Because he is in our own.”
Rigit adds: “Since she moved to Italy, he's already back at the club. He's still a very good team-mate to many of his friends in the 2004 age group. I see him in our facility, watching training from the window. He wants to spend time with his to old friends.
“We try to support him and our door is always open. He will always be part of our club. Maybe he will return to Nordsjaelland after being abroad for many years. But with the amount of money we are talking about here, It won't be for a long time.”
Dorgu has been praised for its physique, flexibility and robustness
The adventure for Dorga is just beginning, his two seasons in the Series, just the beginning for the boy spotted in Jutland eight years ago. For the man who took that path, there's no reason to think that the development in Dorgu's game will stop anytime soon.
“Look at his development at Lecce and Nordsjaelland before that. I think it's that character that we talked about, the way he is, how strong he is from a psychological perspective, not to pull in different directions, they always focus in different directions , they always focus.
“I think if you see what he's been capable of over the last few years, I think it would be wrong to say he can't go further because I think his progress has been very impressive. I think he's going to become a top professional at the highest level.”