[Manchester United](https://manunews.com/) have been European football’s most resurgent side ever since Michael Carrick took over the operation, and one of their most resurgent players was left back Patrick Dorgu before his recent injury.
And Dorgu cannot come back to the Manchester United side soon enough. The Danish international actually showed his most valuable production for Man United as a left winger under Carrick, and the width he offers this team on both ends of the pitch as a progressor and ball winner have been sorely missed.
They were missed the most in this 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United, as the Red Devils were a total disaster on that flank with Luke Shaw at left back in support of the inverted attacking playmaker Matheus Cunha.
While Cunha was actually brilliant on the ball with nine combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn for the Manchester United cause, that was not due to anything Shaw did.
The English veteran was horrendous and genuinely looks finished at the top level of football. He is still an intelligent defender and a reasonably accurate passer, but any verve to actually push the ball up the pitch and create meaningful chances is gone.
Shaw can no longer be an asset to a top team’s attack, and, therefore, he can no longer be an asset to a top team like Manchester United that is now in Champions League contention.
Dorgu, meanwhile, is a needle mover on the left because he is able to frequently win back the ball, eat up acres of space with the ball at his feet, and get into threatening positions in and around the penalty area.
Manchester United are missing that badly right now, and the drop off between Dorgu and Shaw is legitimately steep enough to cost the Red Devils several points in the Premier League table.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.