Man Utd star rejects Barcelona in favour of Old Trafford stay, as Ten Hag plays crucial role

Manchester United right-back Diogo Dalot has opted to reject Barcelona and will remain at Old Trafford this season, as per a report.

Dalot came through Porto’s academy before going on to make eight appearances in their first team. He left the Portuguese club in July 2018 when Manchester United paid around £19million to bring him to England.

Dalot spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan at AC Milan. The defender did well during his 33 outings for the Rossoneri and this led to rumours of a a second transfer there.

Milan made an offer to take the Manchester United man on loan for another campaign, but this transfer didn’t go through.

As such, Dalot competed with Aaron Wan-Bissaka for a starting spot at right-back last season. He struggled to get into the team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but this changed when the Norwegian was replaced by interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

Dalot featured heavily in United’s final seven league matches of the campaign. Unfortunately for him and the Red Devils, they lost four of these outings and drew another.

According to a recent update from Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Barcelona want to sign one of Dalot or Wan-Bissaka. They are hoping to improve Xavi’s options on the right side of defence and the United duo are part of a five-man transfer list.

Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo now come in with an update. They claim Dalot does not want to change clubs this summer, which makes a transfer unlikely.

Diogo Dalot, Barcelona distance themselves from summer link-up

Plus, Barca are no longer targeting the 23-year-old as a prospective summer signing.

Dalot’s decision to remain with the Manchester club is largely down to new boss Erik ten Hag. The Dutch coach has given Dalot starts in both of United’s Premier League matches so far.

While they have resulted in poor performances from the team, Dalot is happy to be getting regular game time. He clearly feels the Red Devils will turn things around if their top players start to do well, and if new stars arrive at the club.

Dalot feels he has the confidence of his manager, which is a crucial factor for players to do well. In addition to this, he is happy living in Manchester. And these factors mean the full-back will not push for a move elsewhere.

While the Ten Hag era has started OK for Dalot, the same cannot be said for his team-mate and competitor Wan-Bissaka. The Englishman is yet to make an appearance this term.

It will be interesting to see who Ten Hag goes with at right-back over the next few weeks. After the awful 4-0 defeat at Brentford last time out, he could look to change things up and bring Wan-Bissaka into the team.

But if this doesn’t happen, and Dalot starts the next few games, then Wan-Bissaka may have to hand in a transfer request.

Crystal Palace reportedly hold an interest in taking the 24-year-old back to Selhurst Park. Their current right-back options are Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne, both of whom are the wrong side of 30. As such, it would make sense for the Eagles to try and capture Wan-Bissaka.

Meanwhile, Manchester United could launch a shock raid on Chelsea for an international star.