Man Utd's 'next Gary Neville' at crossroads as Erik ten Hag ponders decisions

Erik ten Hag's catalogue of issues to fix at Manchester United does not come with a manual.

But United's woeful defensive record is one of the glaring problems staring the new United boss in the face as the Dutchman plans his Old Trafford revolution. The Red Devils shipped the highest number of goals in their Premier League history last season - resulting in a finish 13 points outside the top four and a remarkable 35 behind champions Manchester City.

Ten Hag must prioritise stabilising a porous defence and while troubles lie at centre-back, United's full-backs have long flattered to deceive. Diogo Dalot is among the players still yet to make his mark at Old Trafford after arriving with such promise and he is just one of several players the new manager must run the rule over ahead of the new campaign.

That Jose Mourinho once compared Dalot to Gary Neville is perhaps the best example that Dalot is one of a series of unfulfilled United potentials. Former boss Mourinho tipped Dalot to emulate the legendary right-back after his bright start at Old Trafford following his summer transfer from FC Porto in 2018.

"I don't want to compare, especially not the number of titles but he is probably the same age as Gary Neville when he came into the first team," Mourinho said. "Probably he can follow Neville in this dynamic of more than 10 years as United's right-back, with amazing conditions to improve, because as I was saying he's 19 years old."

Four years on and now 23, Dalot is yet to establish himself as a reliable first-team member, despite becoming more trusted by Ralf Rangnick during the German's disastrous interim reign. Dalot's agent Carlos Goncalves, however, has confirmed the Portuguese star is pleased with his Old Trafford progress after starting half of the Premier League games last season, and is set to stay despite reported interest from Mourinho at AS Roma.

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"He [Dalot] is very happy at Manchester United," Goncalves told 101 Great Goals via Manchester Evening News. "The season went well for him personally, but obviously, it didn't go well for Manchester United given the club's expectations. But we are expecting Diogo to stay for next season, for sure."

The decision Ten Hag is left with on Dalot is now set to make or break his career with the Red Devils. He has bided his time after a loan spell at AC Milan and has spent large periods on the bench as understudy to Aaron Wan-Bissaka. This season is critical for the right-back.

Wan-Bissaka's regression has provided Dalot a huge incentive to seize his chance. The £50million signing from Crystal Palace is one of the players who could be surplus to requirements in Ten Hag's rebuild as he looks to trim a bloated and deflated squad.

Unlike Wan-Bissaka, Dalot's offensive attributes are promising and are not constantly scrutinised. But his defensive game remains flawed with poor positioning still a source of United conceding goals. Ten Hag needs to stabilise a sinking ship at the back.

The Dutchman must decide whether to prioritise the signing of a new first-choice right-back if Wan-Bissaka is sold. Young Ajax star Jurrien Timber is said to be high on the list of Ten Hag's transfer prioritises, but the 20-year-old does not specialise at full-back and is more adept in central defence. And it could prove that Ten Hag initially focuses his attention on strengthening other areas of the team such as midfield in the first transfer window of his long-term rebuild.

Dalot has shown inconsistent glimpses in his United career and giving him the starting right-back berth ahead of the new campaign would prove a huge leap of faith, but could give him the confidence to shine.