Man Utd are targeting two midfielders and a left-winger in the transfer window, and they will look to strengthen other areas of the squad as well.
Jose Mourinho signed Diogo Dalot in the summer of 2018
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It feels like simplicity has been the watchword for the major decisions Michael Carrick has made in his short time in charge of Manchester United. He has restored a system that suits the players available to him and put them back in positions where they can thrive.
He has restored the Premier League's best attacking midfielder to the position of attacking midfielder. He's brought in one of the country's best young midfielders and seen him shine. England's best left-back of the last decade is now playing at left-back.
Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw are three of the obvious examples to benefit from Carrick unpicking some of the tactical decisions made by Ruben Amorim, but the list could go on and on.
Diogo Dalot is another who is finding his best form of the season, and the reasons for that are common sense. Dalot and Amorim had a close relationship, but over 14 months, the plan to turn the Portugal international into an elite-level wing-back never came to fruition.
The position didn't suit his natural strengths and the regular switches from right wing to left wing didn't help. Often asked to play like a winger, Dalot never truly convinced as the answer if United were to stick with wing-backs.
But the tactical change under Carrick has restored the 26-year-old to right-back, and he has immediately looked more comfortable back in his natural position. He looked as good as he has this season against Fulham, finding a better rhythm going forward and seeing so much of the ball that he ended up having more touches than any of his teammates.
That can sometimes be a misleading stat. Fulham might have been happier to see the ball funnelled wide to Dalot than elsewhere on the pitch, but he did create a couple of chances, and his confidence looks to be returning.
It certainly took a hit earlier in the season and it's noticeable that the crowd has turned against him at times during this campaign. There is no doubt Dalot's performance level for sections of this season has been below the standards expected. But with a strong end, he could yet secure his future in the team. It was interesting to hear Gary Neville discuss Dalot last month and suggest he felt he could yet have a role to play long-term.
"He gets a really harsh view at times [from] quite a few United fans. I do think there’s a half-decent full-back in there, and I watch full-backs so closely," said Neville.
"I think he’s actually good in the air. I think he’s got good athleticism about him. I think he’s decent on the ball. I don’t think he’s a world-class full-back, but neither was I.
"I think he’s got something about him. I think he’s got 7/10[s] in him every single week, Dalot, but because we’ve seen him at left wing-back, we’ve seen him at right wing-back, we’ve seen him exposed so many times.
"I think if he just played right full-back and played there all the time, I wouldn’t be getting rid of him in a hurry."
It's not an unqualified endorsement from Neville, but it is balanced. Dalot would certainly aspire to be more than "half-decent", but given a run in his favourite position for the rest of this season, he will get a chance to prove he can be.
United have been linked with right-backs in recent years, but it could drop down the list of priorities this summer. They want two central midfielders and a left-winger, while a centre-back might be needed if Harry Maguire leaves. Another goalkeeper will also be on the agenda.
Depending on the budget, director of football Jason Wilcox and whoever the head coach is next season might decide that right-back options Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui would suffice.
That would take Dalot into a ninth year at Old Trafford. When he joined the club in 2018, Jose Mourinho called him the best young right-back in Europe and said he could be in the United side for "10 years". That has looked unlikely at times, but Dalot is edging closer to fulfilling that prophecy.
He hasn't always been first-choice and he has had times when he has been significantly out of favour, noticeably under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. There are also supporters who would say the fact that he is still the club's first-choice right-back is evidence of recruitment failures.
But from what we have seen in the last couple of weeks, United might well have bigger issues to fix this summer than right-back. If Dalot can keep up a better run of form from now until May, his status at the club is probably in his own hands.
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