Manchester United midfielder Dan Gore has spent the season on loan at League One Rotherham and the MEN has looked to get the lowdown on his stint in the lower leagues.
Dan Gore pictured training with Kobbie Mainoo and Hannibal Mejbri back in October 2023
Dan Gore pictured training with Kobbie Mainoo and Hannibal Mejbri back in October 2023(Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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"I have called him in print a ‘mean little sod’ and I mean it completely as a compliment," Rotherham Advertiser journalist Paul Davis said when praising Manchester United loanee Dan Gore. It has been a case of second time's the charm for the 21-year-old midfielder after returning to the New York Stadium last summer.
Gore initially joined Rotherham in January 2025 but an injury during his debut against Birmingham City meant he missed all but two of the remaining matches of last season. It was in the final game at Peterborough that Gore showed Rotherham what they had missed.
He was named man of the match that day and left with the Millers determined to re-sign him. Despite Championship interest, Rotherham head coach Matt Hamshaw got his man. "I don’t think he would be just part of the conversation for player of the year, I think if we were voting now he would be player of the year," Davis insisted.
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"He has just got too much quality for League One. With that quality comes a really quality attitude too. He doesn’t take backwards steps; he lets no one take liberties with him. He is a little lad with a big heart."
On United's website Gore is described as an attacking midfielder, but the youngster has been used mostly as the 'one' in a 3-1-4-2 formation. "In terms of his quality, he can take the ball anywhere on the pitch, kill it dead, and just make the right decision all the time, no matter how many opposition players are around him," Davis continued.
"The number of times he gets the ball and you think: ‘Where is he going with this?’ But a little shimmy and suddenly he has got past two players. He has a turn of pace too so he can get you up the pitch really, really quickly.
"He can see a pass, does the hard work and puts a tackle in. Does a lot of work on the edge of his own area, inside the area, gets forward. The only minor criticism is that he could do with a few more goals because a player of his quality should be hitting the target more."
This season has been massive for Gore both on and off the pitch. He became a father in August last year and divides his time between Manchester and Sheffield, where he lives in rented accommodation.
He also reached a major career milestone when he scored his first senior goal in a 7-2 thrashing of Salford City in the EFL Trophy. The midfielder has also adapted well to life away from the glamour of Carrington.
Dan Gore aims to win back possession for Rotherham
Dan Gore aims to win back possession for Rotherham
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Rotherham's Roundwood Training Complex is a world away from the Premier League. But Gore is no prima donna.
He has relished the new surroundings. Davis joked he would hate to get on the wrong side of Gore but that's not where the comparisons to a United legend end.
"I was brought up in the Roy Keane era, and I am not saying he is going to turn into another Roy Keane, but that ability to kill a ball, never waste a ball and stand up to anybody - and the box-to-box thing as well - he has got all that," he explained. "Rotherham are a working class team, a good work ethic and when they are working together, that is when they win promotions.
"He fits right in with that. We have loved having him and I know he has loved being with us."
This summer, United must decide whether they will offer Gore a new contract or allow him to leave. If he were to depart, there would be no shortage of EFL teams queuing up to sign him.
But in Davis' opinion, the midfielder has shown enough at Rotherham for United to keep him. "I think there is enough there to think this kid has got Premier League potential and let’s not let him go and prove it elsewhere," he concluded.
"I am his biggest fan, I love him. He needs to be playing in the Championship at least next season because he is that good.
"I would love to see him come through at Manchester United, watch him on TV and say I was a tiny part of his story. He is a cracking player, a good lad and I know he is going to do well."
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