It is safe to say that it has been far from plain sailing for Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag since his appointment last year, with the current campaign, in particular, proving rather rocky so far for the Red Devils with just two wins from their opening four Premier League games.
After splashing out £183.5m during the recent summer window, the pressure is on for the Dutchman to get the club back competing for the top honours, with the gulf between themselves and rivals Manchester City still looking rather large at present.
That being said, however, the former Ajax boss has no doubt made some solid progress since taking the reins just over 12 months ago, with last season's Carabao Cup triumph indicating that things may be moving in the right direction, albeit somewhat slowly.
The 53-year-old was dealt a difficult hand initially after inheriting a fractured and underperforming squad that had recorded United's lowest-ever points tally under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, with the mood seemingly at an all-time low at Old Trafford at the time.
What Ten Hag has been successfully able to do is rejuvenate some of those figures who had underwhelmed under the previous regime, with Marcus Rashford, in particular, enjoying a new lease of life after scoring 30 goals across all fronts last term – 25 more than the year prior.
The England international is not the only first-team asset to have reaped the rewards of the change in the dugout, with Portuguese full-back Diogo Dalot having also impressed of late, as his soaring market value can attest to.
How much did Man United pay for Dalot?
It has been a long road for the 24-year-old since his arrival in Manchester back in the summer of 2018, with the Premier League giants having moved to acquire a player who then-boss Jose Mourinho described as the "best full-back in Europe" for his age group.
Despite being just a teenager at the time – with just eight senior appearances under his belt for Porto – the emerging right-back was snapped up by United for a fee of around £19m, with the youngster brought in to help provide competition for Antonio Valencia on the flanks.
That deal appeared to be to the delight of his compatriot, Mourinho, with the serial-winning coach also noting the qualities of the 19-year-old that had caught his eye: "He is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club.
"He has all the attributes that a full-back needs: physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at the professional level."
It wasn't too long, however, before the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss was on his way after being sacked in December 2018, with Dalot subsequently struggling to earn a regular role for himself under his successor, Solskjaer.
How many times did Dalot play under Solskjaer?
The Braga-born gem ended his debut season in England with just 23 first-team appearances under his belt in all competitions, albeit while having notably played a prominent role in the stunning Champions League, last 16, second-leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain in March 2019.
That dramatic 3-1 win – which seemingly secured Solskjaer the permanent role at United following a solid interim spell – saw the youngster pose a real threat down the right flank after replacing the injured Eric Bailly in the first-half, with it having been the Portuguese's strike which led to the game-deciding penalty following a handball by Presnel Kimpembe.
Despite that show of promise, Dalot's hopes of succeeding Valencia as the starting option at right-back were inhibited by the £50m capture of Aaron Wan-Bissaka later that year, with the former Porto man subsequently featuring just 11 times in 2019/20.
That slide down the pecking order saw the 6 foot starlet shipped off on loan to AC Milan for the following 2020/21 campaign, with that temporary spell proving rather impressive as he scored twice and registered three assists in 33 games in all competitions for the Serie A side.
A return to Italy was mooted that summer, although Dalot was reinstated in Solskjaer's first-team squad for the new season, albeit while again playing second fiddle to Wan-Bisska – after making just four league outings in the first 12 games of the campaign.
It wasn't until the Norwegian's sacking that things soon shifted with regard to the defender's time at the Theatre of Dreams, with the £85k-per-week gem – who played just 36 times under Solskjaer's watch – having since gone on to make the treble winner look rather silly such has been his rise of late.
How much is Dalot worth now?
Having been selected as the first-choice option under interim coach, Rangnick, the 13-cap international – who was hailed as "superb" back in 2022 by pundit Kevin Phillips – retained that regular role following Ten Hag's arrival, with positional rival Wan-Bissaka enjoying just four minutes of football in the first-half of last term.
Although, to his credit, the Englishman has since enjoyed something of a renaissance to spark talk that a new deal could be on the cards, Dalot has also continued to feature prominently in recent times, with the club making a real show of faith by handing him his own extended contract back in May.
Erik ten Hag
45
2
3
Ralf Rangnick
22
0
0
Michael Carrick
1
0
0
Jose Mourinho
6
0
1
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
36
1
2
Stats via Transfermarkt
Now 24, the versatile defender – who can also operate at left-back – looks to have blossomed greatly since arriving as a teenager just over five years ago, with that improvement showcased by the fact that he is now worth around €60m (£53m), according to CIES Football Observatory.
That represents a rise of 178% in relation to his initial £19m transfer fee, with that again indicating that the blossoming talent has finally proved the doubters wrong after he "never got a chance under previous managers", according to Phillips.
While maintaining that soaring valuation may prove tricky with a resurgent Wan-Bissaka now in the picture, although it looks as if Dalot is beginning to live up to Mourinho's prior billing – putting Solskjaer in his place in the process.