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Manchester United waited until ninety minutes before Friday night’s 11pm deadline for the transfer window to officially confirm the signing of Manuel Ugarte; their number one target for midfield who the club spent the entire summer chasing.
But fans will have to wait a little while longer to see the 23-year-old’s first ninety minutes in a Red Devils shirt as Ugarte was not registered before 12pm yesterday – the cut off for new players to feature in this weekend’s fixtures. There was never any plan amongst Old Trafford officials for their new midfielder to be included in Sunday’s crunch game against bitter rivals Liverpool, however.
Ugarte has not played a single minute of competitive football since Uruguay’s Copa America tournament ended on July 11 in a heart-breaking semi-final loss to Colombia. He was left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s squads for the Ligue 1 champions’ opening games with manager Luis Enrique adamant he would not feature this season following the signing of Joao Neves from Benfica.
Should Enrique’s decision to exclude Ugarte from his plans moving forward in Paris cause concern for the 23-year-old’s future in Manchester? Or was it more a case of an uncomfortable fit for the Uruguayan in the Spaniard’s philosophy, with Erik ten Hag’s vision at Old Trafford lending itself more to Ugarte’s strengths?
Let’s find out.
A Strong Start to Life in France
Ugarte began his career at the Parc des Princes in scintillating fashion following his €60 million move from Portuguese side Sporting.
Enrique described the Uruguayan as “superb” following his debut against Lorient – a game PSG drew 0-0. “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 passed the ball well. He was brilliant in physical duels. I give Ugarte 10 out of 10,” the 54-year-old coach effused.
The Athletic describes Ugarte’s “opening displays [as] exceptional” with his intense style and thunderous challenges an “instant crowd-pleaser”.
Yet PSG struggled for control throughout the 2023/24 season, particularly in midfield, where Ugarte was stationed.
A combination of an elite forward line, headed by the world’s best player in the recently-departed Kylian Mbappe, and an unbeatable Gianluigi Donnarumma, who would “regularly spare blushes” for PSG, masked a side with suboptimal midfield and defensive units.
The Wrong Type of Defensive Midfielder
Enrique spoke of the need for greater levels of control through more proficiency in possession when he was appointed as manager in the French capital. “We have a philosophy, to be a team that dominates, a team that has the ball. So we don’t give space to our opponents. We want to have the ball quickly for ourselves.”
Ugarte’s strengths as a defensive midfielder do not lie with the ball; rather, the combative Uruguayan is at his best when harassing the opposition and attempting to win it back. When in possession, he is a safe passer who simply seeks to lay it off to teammates, rather than wanting to be progressive with the ball himself.
For a coach like Enrique, whose archetypal number six are midfielders in the mould of Sergio Busquets and Rodri, players the Spaniard has managed in the past who function as their team’s metronome in possession, Ugarte’s profile was never a compatible one.
Ugarte struggles were most pronounced in PSG’s Champions League campaign – a worrying sign that an increase in the quality of the opposition correlated with a decrease in his performance levels.
A dismal night against AC Milan in the group stages saw Ugarte win only 3 out of 15 duels as PSG were “overrun in midfielder”. The Uruguayan suffered similar experiences against United’s Premier League rival, Newcastle. PSG would qualify from their group in 2nd place on goal-difference in razor sharp fashion.
In response, Enrique dropped Ugarte for the remainder of the knockout stages.
A Bad Fit Rather Than a Bad Player
Ugarte was not alone in his struggles to adapt to Enrique’s demands in Paris.
Milan Skriniar, signed from Inter Milan on a free transfer and captain of the Slovakian national team, was dropped from the Spaniard’s starting eleven due to the centre-back’s ability (or lack thereof) in possession. He was replaced by 20-year-old Lucas Beraldo – a less experienced defender but one much more comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Similarly, there has even been “question marks” over Donnarumma as the number one goalkeeper given his weaknesses in possession; and this a player The Athletic describes as having a “very strong claim to be [PSG’s] player of the season.” There’s acceptance that the Italian international’s strengths with his hands outweigh his weaknesses with his feet, however.
The two points of correlation between Ugarte, Skriniar and Donnarumma are; firstly, their struggles in a system predicated on possession; and, secondly, they were signed prior to Enrique’s appointment at the club.
Ugarte is not a bad defensive midfielder because Enrique does not rate him. Rather, he is simply a bad fit as a defensive midfielder in the system the Spanish manager approaches matches with; a round peg in a square hole. In a different system – one revolving around pressing as much as passing – the 23-year-old is likely to enjoy a very different experience to the one in the French capital.
Impressing With Pressing
By any statistical metric, Ugarte is an elite ball-winning midfielder.
He is a tireless runner who can effectively press the opposition across ninety minutes of intense football. The pure number of tackles, interceptions and challenges he produces is almost unmatched by any midfielder in Europe. He functions more like a heat-seeking missile for the ball than a defensive sentry gun stationed just in front of the back four.
If a manager is looking to implement a system based on pressing and counter-pressing, where their side seeks to force transitions and dominate through quick counter-attacks, Ugarte becomes a potent round peg in a round-shaped hole.
Ten Hag spoke of his desire to see United become the “best transition team” in the world last summer. The season which preceded this proclamation was an unmitigated disaster with an unrelenting injury crisis devastating the Dutchman’s squad.
Ten Hag was not blameless in this abysmal year but INEOS, who gained full control over the sporting operation at Old Trafford in February, decided the 54-year-old deserved to continue in his role with much greater levels of executive support.
The former Ajax coach’s vision to see his current side become masters of transition will be given another audition; and there have been promising signs in the first three games of the new season, even if results haven’t matched. Ugarte will be a perfect fit within this philosophy, however. And the Uruguayan international will provide a much-needed boost in energy and tenacity to a midfield unit which looked extremely light before his signing.
Ugarte’s magnetism towards the ball often sees him vacate his position to hunt it. This will create gaps in midfield, the type which were relentlessly exploited by opposition teams last season. However, United’s approach this year is for the defensive line to be stationed much higher up the field, thus minimising the gaps created by a pressing midfield.
If Ugarte can help raise his new team’s ability to hunt the ball, while the club’s new defensive purchases – Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui – can increase the backline’s confidence in pushing up and condensing the pitch, the effect should be an overwhelmingly positive one.
Conclusion
Ugarte is likely to emerge as a crowd favourite at Old Trafford quickly.
His aggressive and indefatigable style will be a welcome relief to a fanbase having endured twelve months of weakness in their side’s engine room. The fact that the 23-year-old will be particularly strong in pressing and counter-pressing, while retaining reasonable levels of ball retention, should make him a Ten Hag favourite too.
The Athletic describes Ugarte as an “elite operator” with his form in this summer’s Copa America only “further[ing] that case.” Even if is only a ‘good operator’, this will still constitute a significant upgrade to United’s midfield.
There remains concerns about whether Ugarte is the right type of ‘holding’ midfielder. Similarly, the Uruguayan is not a physically dominant midfielder in the mould of Rodri or Declan Rice – two of the Premier League’s elite defensive midfielders – and there are concerns how his game will adapt to the rigours of English football.
The price United paid PSG is a fair one.
The club have struck more economic deals for their other signings, outside of Yoro, but the stark lack of outstanding candidates in defensive midfield means the fee for a 23-year-old international with Champions League experience and four years left on his deal is reasonable.
Whether Ugarte is the perfect option as a number six at Old Trafford in the long-term will be a question answered only with time. The fact he is a much better fit in Ten Hag’s philosophy in Manchester than Enrique’s in Paris suggests the early omens are positive ones.
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