Diogo Dalot is proving Jose Mourinho right at Manchester United

It was perhaps inevitable that Diogo Dalot would struggle in his first years at Manchester United, given just how much he was hyped up by the man who signed him, Jose Mourinho.

Not a great deal was known about the Portuguese right-back when he joined United in 2018, but Mourinho had seen enough to accelerate plans to sign a player who had only made eight senior appearances for former side Porto. The defender actually had a £17.5m release clause in his contract, but United chose to pay more than that, to fend off competition from eight other clubs credited with an interest.

Dalot had always played in the above age group for Portugal’s youth teams and arrived as a winner after lifting the Portuguese title and the UEFA European under-17 championship. Importantly, the youngster had impressed United scouts first-hand when he kept a clean sheet against Liverpool in the Champions League, despite being deployed out of position on the left side of defence.

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"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," Mourinho said when he signed him.

“In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe and we all believe he has a bright future ahead of him at Manchester United.”

Labelling the then teenager the best full-back for his age was always going to ramp up the pressure, and despite an encouraging first few months, the pressure seemed to get to the Portuguese.

It might not have helped then that, after a thumping victory over Fulham, the manager compared him to Gary Neville and stated that he 'could follow Neville