Manuel Ugarte and Erling Haaland
Manuel Ugarte battles with Erling Haaland during United's derby day win
Erik ten Hag said in public that Manuel Ugarte had been "on my radar a long time", ever since watching him for Ruben Amorim's Sporting against Ajax in December 2021. But the Uruguayan was not the player Ten Hag wanted to strengthen his midfield this summer and his use of him before he was sacked at the end of October didn't suggest he had yet built up trust in him.
The arrival of Ugarte from Paris St-Germain for a fee of £42m, rising to £50.5m with add-ons, was a win for the collaborative nature of recruitment at United now. Ten Hag might have mostly got what he wanted in the summer, but he wasn't entirely sold on Ugarte.
He started only four games under the Dutchman and only one of those was in the Premier League. That was the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham in September when he undoubtedly had a difficult day. But he wasn't alone and it wasn't uncommon for Ten Hag's United teams to be ridden roughshod over.
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That was the week Ten Hag really started to have to fight for his future. In subsequent away days at Porto and Aston Villa, road trips that could have been his final games in charge had they ended in defeat, Ugarte didn't get off the bench. One of the marquee summer signings was already a peripheral figure.
The results ultimately did for Ten Hag, but his recruitment ideas were also questionable. Ugarte's transformation from Ten Hag to Ruud van Nistelrooy and now to Amorim has been eye-catching. From four starts in 10 games, he has now started eight of the last 11.
It helps that the 23-year-old understands Amorim's system from their time together at Sporting, but Van Nistelrooy also immediately promoted him to the team. He enjoyed one of his best games yet in Sunday's seismic Manchester derby win.
He won seven duels against City and completed 39 of his 41 passes. Playing in one of the two deeper midfield roles, he is a combative and energetic presence and those fears that his use of the ball wasn't good enough for United are being quietened.
It's also clear that Ugarte is growing in stature. One bad game was enough to consign him to the margins under Ten Hag, but he already had Amorim's trust, and that is making a significant difference.
There is plenty of competition for those two deeper midfield roles. Bruno Fernandes has started next to Ugarte a few times recently, while Kobbie Mainoo came on in that role when Mason Mount went off injured. Casemiro never got off the bench.
But it's clear to see that Ugarte is now a key man for Amorim, and for the biggest games the question won't be who plays in those midfield roles, but who plays next to Ugarte.