Forget Martinez: Man Utd Chiefs Must Put Diogo Dalot Up for Sale Immediately

· GiveMeSport

The Manchester United star needs to leave Old Trafford for many reasons

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez produced a remarkable outburst against director of football Jason Wilcox following Tuesday night's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Despite picking up more points than any other Premier League club between Michael Carrick taking interim charge in January and the end of last season, this Man United team are once again looking like the sides who struggled under Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag previously.

Performances and results simply haven't been there this term and their only two wins have been games they expected to get three points from, at home to newly-promoted Ipswich Town in the Premier League and against Azerbaijani outfit Sabah at Old Trafford in the Champions League.

Those are their only victories in nine attempts in 2026-27, which has left them lying 13th in the Premier League standings and Carrick's win percentage at a lowly 22% this term compared to more than 70% during his spell in charge last season.

Things need to change, and quickly, if the 45-year-old is to keep his job at Old Trafford, starting with the away double header against Leeds United and Como in the next week.

Martinez has certainly taken some of the attention away from his manager with his scathing comments about the club's summer recruitment, where he has suggested that more should have been done after they qualified for the Champions League again following a three-year absence.

> I expect more from our technical director (meaning director of football, Jason Wilcox). We expect more from the top, from upstairs, to bring in more players to compete.

United were trying to add a new left-back in the summer after interest in Newcastle United's Lewis Hall and Barcelona's Alejandro Balde, but they failed to do so with the three new central midfielders proving to be the only additions.

The Red Devils look short of quality and depth in other positions so far this season, with their defence a particular area of concern.

According to Sky Sports, Martinez's future at Old Trafford is now in doubt , but there is another player the club hierarchy should be looking to cash in on.

Clearly, United are looking for a player who can compete with Luke Shaw and eventually replace him at left-back after the interest in Hall, but they need to do the same on the opposite flank.

Dalot has been a United player for eight years now and while there have been times when he has been a solid and consistent performer, too often he has been a liability defensively, and he is currently in one of his inconsistent spells.

United's defence has conceded 14 goals in nine matches this term and all four of the club's regular starters in the backline, Shaw, Martinez, Harry Maguire and Dalot, have been at fault at different times.

Man United's Current First-Choice Defence

The Portugal international would have been hoping to bounce back with a strong display having seen Leny Yoro start at right-back ahead of him against Tottenham on Saturday evening, but it didn't go to plan for him in the Spanish capital, and he was handed a 3/10 rating for his display by Samuel Luckhurst.

The 27-year-old was caught out in the opening minute by Alex Baena as Diego Simeone's men took an early lead, while he was also partly at fault when Julian Alvarez hit the post and Ademola Lookman scored the hosts' second goal after Yoro saw red.

Dalot's lack of concentration and awareness is a worry and if United really want to kick on in the next years and become genuine contenders to try and win the Premier League and Champions League, it is clear that defensive upgrades are needed.

While Martinez is the centre of attention right now and his place in the XI should also be under threat following a shaky start to the campaign, Dalot has had chance after chance to show he can be a United regular for years to come, and he simply isn't doing it in recent years.

If United really want to progress, they need to put him up for sale immediately and work out who their new long-term right-back is going to be.

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