Search icon

Football

07th Jun 2018

Liverpool supporters take issue with Jose Mourinho’s claim about new arrival

"In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe"

Darragh Murphy

Jose Mourinho made no secret of his desire to strengthen his full-back options.

For years, Manchester United have been far too reliant on Antonio Valencia at right-back while the club has been forced to rely on makeshift left-back Ashley Young in recent seasons. While Young has adapted admirably and Valencia continues to prove his worth, reinforcements have been necessary for some time and Mourinho hopes to have remedied that with the signing of Portuguese defender Diogo Dalot.

On Wednesday, United confirmed the acquisition of Dalot, a Portugal U21 international, for a fee believed to be around £19 million. At 19 years of age, Dalot has a bright future ahead of him and Mourinho has been a fan of the youngster for several years.

“In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe,” Mourinho said of the new arrival.

“He is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club. He has all the attributes that a full-back needs: physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at the professional level.”

However, Mourinho’s claim that United have just signed the best full-back in Europe in his age group has prompted a reaction from some Liverpool fans. Reds supporters have claimed that Dalot has some ways to go to prove that he is better than their beloved Trent Alexander-Arnold.