Getting Diogo Dalot in some sort of form, even as a backup to Noussair Mazraoui, will be Michael Carrick’s big challenge at Man Utd, and a youngster can help.
The season hasn’t gone as planned for Man Utd, and that inevitably means it hasn’t gone to plans for most of the players in the squad.
Diogo Dalot has become the lightning rod for criticism partly because he’s always available, but mostly because he frustrates Man Utd fans with his decision-making.
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Clearly, Dalot is not going anywhere, but Michael Carrick can at least trust the flying full-back in the academy to challenge him to return to form.
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Diogo Dalot must be challenged by Jaydan Kamason
The solace for United fans lies in the fact that even if Dalot doesn’t return to top form, at least Noussair Mazraoui’s return is around the corner.
Furthermore, Carrick’s style of play will simplify his role and his unique habit of finding himself in goalscoring positions.
Still, United cannot simply afford to wait and keep playing Dalot unchallenged, because he’s clearly grown comfortable with his place in the side.
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Enter Jaydan Kamason, the flying full-back in the academy who inexplicably seems to have taken a backseat in the pecking order of breaking through into the first team.
Kamason has been a regular for the U21s this season after a brilliant U18 campaign last season, so he needs to be utilised as a spark plug to charge Dalot into action.
Nobody should mistake Kamason for being a scintillating option at right-back at this point, but he doesn’t need to be.
He simply needs to be what Brandon Williams was once upon a time for Luke Shaw – someone to light up a fire in a player who has grown too comfortable with his place in the squad.
Kamason is better suited to break through under Michael Carrick
A major reason why this option is more plausible under Carrick than it was under Ruben Amorim is the return of a back-four setup.
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Amorim’s wing-back role was such a complex one that he fell on the sword of not having multiple competent ones.
There was no way he was going to trust a youngster in that right wing-back spot, and Kamason wasn’t ready for such demands either.
However, the right-back role is more up Kamason’s alley, and that makes him better suited to break through under Carrick than he was under Amorim.
With just 17 more games left to play, Mazraoui’s return will eventually cut into his minutes as Dalot also settles into a backup role.
In the meantime, a smart performance or two in Dalot’s position can wake up the Portuguese full-back from his slumber.
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