£25m signing has shown Manchester United what they are missing - and Gary Neville was right

When Manchester United's players made their way back to the dressing room at half-time at Goodison Park last Saturday, only Patrick Dorgu would have been within his rights to walk in with his head lifted.

The £25million recruit was the only bright spark in what was a forgettable first half. United trailed 2-0 at the interval and had been second best all over the pitch.

However, Dorgu had offered United supporters something to cling onto. Making just his second Premier League start, he looked more seasoned than some of his teammates who have made hundreds of top-flight appearances.

Following United's transition to a 3-4-2-1 formation under head coach Ruben Amorim, United made the addition of a left-sided wing-back their leading objective for the January window.

They had been starved of a natural left-sided full-back/wing-back almost all season and addressing that area of concern had to be a non-negotiable. Dorgu is a natural fit and he has the athletic profile Amorim needs to make his system work.

The Dane frequently got forward, particularly in the first half, with the bulk of United's attacks coming down his flank. He often exchanged passes with Bruno Fernandes, who started as the left-sided No.10.

However, United were starved of any sort of creativity on the opposite flank. Diogo Dalot has recently been restored to the right after spending almost all season on the left and he has so far struggled to produce the attacking threat Amorim craves from his wing-backs.

Of course, Dorgu was at the centre of a defensive mix up and was shown a straight red card in Wednesday night's 3-2 defeat to Ipswich Town. He was dismissed shortly before half-time for a nasty challenge on Omari Hutchinson.

His first red card of his United