Toby Wilding

Wed 2 April 2025 8:00, UK

Patrick Dorgu has been heavily criticised by Martin O’Neill for his impact for Man United in comparison to Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga after the clash between the two sides.

The left wing-back has produced some promising performances for the Red Devils since arriving from Lecce back in the January transfer window.

However, Dorgu was one of several Man United players who struggled against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday (1 April) at The City Ground.

Ruben Amorim‘s side were beaten 1-0 by the hosts, with the winning goal scored by a former member of the squad at Old Trafford, in the form of Elanga.

Anthony Elanga shows Man United what they are missing

It was a stunning goal from the winger that proved to be the matchwinner in just the fifth minute, as he ran almost the full length of the pitch before firing past Andre Onana.

That continues a run of excellent form for Elanga at Nottingham Forest and with his national team, following his departure from Old Trafford back in 2023.

He is not the only player to have impressed since leaving Man United, with Marcus Rashford returning to form since leaving for Aston Villa back in the winter transfer window.

O’Neill now feels as though the decision to let Elanga go, may be haunting the club, when compared with the performance of Dorgu in this latest outing.

While analysing the game for TNT Sports, the former Nottingham Forest manager was asked if the performances of the likes of Elanga, Rashford and Antony at Real Betis reflect badly on Man United.

In response to that question, O’Neill said (10:23pm): “Well ok, Rashford has gone there he’s been allowed out, I’m surprised I must admit that Manchester United have allowed him to go out and go to Aston Villa, competitors really.

“Antony has gone to Real Betis, I’ve seen him intermittently so I don’t really know, not phenomenal examples really. But I just think this lad’s (Elanga) a threat, he’s a threat and that’s the big thing.

“Manchester United do not possess enough threats in their team it’s really as simple as that. They had Dorgu playing tonight and I could have done what he did!

“He’s got the ball, wide left-hand side and you’re saying to him ‘come on, your job is to take players on, get at players.’

“He’s laid it inside three times in the first ten minutes of the second half to the opposition, he’s given them the ball. So either no confidence, I don’t know what it is, but these type of things are happening all over the field at Manchester United.

“They’ve got some really good players, obviously Bruno Fernandes is a top quality player, but as I said at the start of the programme they haven’t got enough good players to be a threat in this league.”

Patrick Dorgu can still be useful for Ruben Amorim’s side

Football Insider Verdict

There is no denying that this was not a positive performance from Dorgu against Nottingham Forest, with the wing-back struggling to trouble the opposition defence.

However, he was far from the only Man United performer to disappoint in terms of what they offered from an attacking perspective.

It may therefore be somewhat harsh to single him out when he is still only 20-years-old and adapting to a new league and country.

That does of course mean that there is still time to improve and become a key man at Old Trafford, where he has signed a long-term contract.

There have already been some decent performances from Dorgu in a Man United shirt that do suggest he can establish himself in that way at Old Trafford.

Even so there can be no denying any club would want Elanga given the form he is producing now, although he did not consistently do that when he was with the Red Devils.

This may therefore be a reminder for them to keep the faith in Dorgu, in the hope that such perseverance will pay off in the way it might have done with Elanga.