Manchester United fans are currently being polled for the club’s player of the month award. One pundit has a strong view.
March was an eventful month for Manchester United. It began with a 3-1 loss to City, followed by beating Everton 2-0, then a 4-3 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup.
An international break halted that momentum, with United finishing off with a 1-1 draw at Brentford, and United remain sixth in the Premier League table.
Tonight’s game with Chelsea can cut the gap on fifth to six points, but ahead of that, United fans are being quizzed over the club’s player of the month award.
The three nominees are Andre Onana, Alejandro Garnacho and Diogo Dalot, all of who have strong cases.
Wes Brown backs Diogo Dalot to win award
Alejandro Garnacho has already won the award twice this season and despite playing well, he did not get on the scoresheet in March.
Andre Onana has made a huge improvement, second in the Golden Glove race, with impressive individual statistics.
One of the least flashy, but consistently outstanding players is Dalot, who has emerged as one of Manchester United’s defensive leaders.
Former Red Devils defender Wes Brown believes Dalot should win the player of the month award, citing his impressive progress.
Brown told The Debate: “Dalot for me, he’s come into his own a little bit. He’s clocked onto what he needs to do, what he needed to do better.
“He’s been in the right positions. He’s looked quick he’s looked fit, he’s looked sharp. You know, you can see he’s really focused when he’s playing as well. The confidence through that is just flowing, so for me it would have to be Dalot.”
Brown puts his improvement down to Dalot feeling more comfortable in his role, adding: “Let’s just play my game freely. Enjoy it. He’s happy. You’ve got to believe in yourself as well. And I think that’s come out a lot this season.
“You know, one on one situations, whether it’s a cross at the back post where he has been done been done a few times in the past few seasons, concentration levels, but he stepped it up. And he’s looked sharp.
“And you can see once he does that, especially at the beginning of the game, the attacker doesn’t really want it, you know, because he know he’s quick as well. You’re not actually going to run past him. And that’s, you know, he’s just got better and better, he’s skilful as well.”
Brown played 367 times for Manchester United, and spoke this week abouthow he enjoyed Sir Alex Ferguson’s hairdryer treatment, explaining that it spurred him on to meet his manager’s high standards.
Dalot has a similar spirit, a desire to be the best possible version of himself, and his improvement this season has put him in the mix for the player of the year award, regardless of the outcome of this month’s vote.
Diogo Dalot has been a near ever-present
Part of the reason Diogo Dalot has earned such plaudits this season has been his reliability. While Manchester United’s other defenders have all had spells on the sidelines, Dalot has remained fit throughout.
Given that his fitness regime is inspired by former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, it would be churlish to put this down to mere good fortune.
Dalot has only missed one match this season, which came due to suspension, after a ridiculous red card in the draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
He has filled in at left-back and right-back, but in recent games since Aaron Wan-Bissaka‘s return, it has been the former Crystal Palace man who has been shunted over to the left, testament to Dalot’s importance on the right.