New Chelsea star details huge impact Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim had on his career

Chelsea midfielder Dario Essugo has revealed his huge debt of gratitude to Ruben Amorim. It was the Manchester United boss who gave Essugo’s career lift-off when they were together at Sporting Lisbon and made him one of Europe’s most sought after young players.

Former Sporting boss Amorim gave Essugo his debut in the Champions League when he was just 16 years and 268 days, making him the Portuguese club’s youngest debutant in the competition.

Essugo, 20, joined Chelsea in the summer for £18.5m and will always be grateful for Amorim for putting him in the first team after just ONE training session. Portugal under-21 star Essugo said: “He brought me to the first team so he helped me a lot, to understand the game, to reach the level I am here now.

“I am grateful. He is so demanding. He is a demanding person. He likes to win every time so he has helped me a lot. I made one training session with the first team and the coach Ruben Amorim likes what he saw and he called me to play.

“I didn’t expect to play because at this time there was Covid and I wasn’t playing anything because the Champions League had stopped. We had good players like Manuel Ugarte, João Palhinha and now Morten Hjulmand.

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“They are three big players. I had the opportunity to learn with one of them and of course this for me was a big opportunity.”

Essugo says he learned a lot from those players and Amorim but also wants to be his own man rather than be compared to players like Claude Makelele or Michael Essien and N’Golo Kante who have obvious similarities.

He said: “To be honest, I never saw Makelele on TV but the people told me a lot about Makelele and say I have some similar parts of his game. They are big players. I want to make my own way but also like to see Makelele, Essien and Kante, to follow their steps.

“I always play as a midfielder but also I am a defensive midfielder but I also like to go forward with the ball, box to box. Of course it is good when they compare you with a very big player but it is a mix of both because I want to try to have my way, to achieve the top.”

And when Chelsea came calling this summer, there was never any doubt in Essugo’s mind about where to go. His dad now manages his career after a career in construction while his mum works in a kitchen.

Now Essugo wants to cook up something special at Stamford Bridge and says Enzo Maresca has also been hugely positive since he arrived. He added: “Chelsea helped my parents so many times. I feel very good. When my father said Chelsea want me to come here, of course I can’t say no.

“I am learning with the coach, the players, the midfielders here. Enzo has a different idea of football like all the managers. But I always to try catch what he wants. Romeo Lavia is so calm I learn so much from him.

“It is a different level. The players are amazing. Before, when I was at Las Palmas and Sporting, they had very big players but for me it is an amazing feeling to be here.”

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