Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy warned critics not to underestimate Manchester United’s £50.8million signing ahead of the arrival of Ruben Amorim.
The expensive summer addition has four appearances so far in the Premier League, with only one as a starter.
Prior to playing Chelsea, Van Nistelrooy said: “I’m convinced about Manuel that he will be a great player for United. I think yesterday he had a very good performance, against Fenerbahce he had a good performance.
“Getting players in an early conclusion, players that are here for two or three months, you should be careful with that I think. It’s a great signing, very good player, professional, he has very specific qualities in midfield, gets in between players, can recover a lot of balls for us to get us in attacking positions.
“Also, on the ball, very decent so I think he will be a very good player for this club.
When asked about Manuel Ugarte’s link to Amorim and why Erik ten Hag wanted the Uruguayan he replied: “The recruitment is not part of the assistant manager, but I can comment on working with Manuel on a daily basis.
“He’s adjusting, he wants to adjust, he wants to be part of this club, do well and he’s very motivated to do so. He’s getting better every time, the performance yesterday was good and he can build on that.”
Despite good performances as of recent in the Carabao Cup and Europa League, Ugarte has struggled to have the sizable impact Man United fans demand of him since his arrival from French giant Paris Saint-Germain.
The midfielder was signed to assist and/or replace Casemiro due to his greater mobility and tenacious energy, in theory acting as a better shield for their defence.
PSG manager Luis Enrique knows he possesses those qualities but he also knows his limitations.
Enrique wanted a holding midfielder who possessed progressive passing ability which is why he was willing to let Ugarte leave despite the French club paying £51.1m.
They then invested his sale fee into Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves who has shone bright in Paris assisting six goals in Ligue 1 so far.
In contrast Ugarte contributed only three assists in 25 league appearances last season while having a lower progressive passes per 90 total than Casemiro.
It’s clear that he didn’t excel in the playmaking department but he was a player who would never shy away from a thunderous tackle.
On his 2023/24 league debut against Lorient Enrique praised Ugarte: “Manuel Ugarte was superb. I loved the way he played with and without the ball. I loved his positioning.
“He won the ball back many times with his pressing. He was brilliant in physical duels. I give Ugarte ten out of ten.”
He thrives in one-on-one situations. Ugarte boasted the second best tackles per 90 rate in Europe’s top five leagues last season with 4.6, only behind former Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha, the man he replaced at Sporting Lisbon.
Ugarte’s 8.42 recoveries per 90 was also the seventh-highest total in Europe’s top five leagues, and his 2.7 tackles won per 90 was the best figure in Ligue 1.
With Ruben Amorim set to arrive as Manchester United head coach Ugarte will surely benefit as the two worked together at Sporting Lisbon.
The 24-year-old was signed by Amorim in 2021 and later became a key player during the 2022/23 season, only missing three league matches.
The new head coach previously praised his ‘ability to find players from all sides of the pitch with incredible speed’ which was and will be important in his back three formation.
Ugarte is set to be the biggest winner of the Portuguese coach arriving in Manchester.
