Manchester United did some impressive business on paper during the summer transfer window as they brought Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko in to improve their options at the top end of the pitch.
Mbeumo has hit the ground running since his move from Premier League rivals Brentford, with goals against Grimsby and Burnley in recent weeks.
The summer transfer window was not perfect, though, as the Red Devils were unable to get a deal done for Brighton & Hove Albion central midfielder Carlos Baleba.
There was also a scare late on in the window when Fabrizio Romano revealed that Kobbie Mainoo had told the club that he wanted to leave on loan for the season.
kobbie-mainoo-united
The England international wanted to go out on loan, but was not entertaining any permanent transfers away from Old Trafford, in order to play regular minutes ahead of next summer's World Cup.
However, Manchester United were unwilling to lose the academy graduate, even on loan, so close to the end of the window, which means that he remained at the club.
Why Man Utd need to get the best out of Kobbie Mainoo
Ruben Amorim must find a way to get the best out of Mainoo now that the player is staying at Old Trafford, because he has proven himself to be an exciting young talent.
Mainoo vs Grimsby
His only start of the season so far came against Grimsby in the League Cup. It was an awful night for the club, losing on penalties, but the midfielder showed his quality in and out of possession in midfield.
There should be little doubt over whether or not Mainoo is good enough to be starting matches for Manchester United when you consider his form prior to Amorim's arrival.
23/24 Premier League Kobbie Mainoo per 90 Percentile rank vs CMs
Take-ons attempted 2.71 Top 20%
Take-ons completed 1.42 Top 18%
Take-on success rate 53.4% Top 28%
Goal-creating actions (take-ons) 0.09 Top 4%
Goal-creating actions (shot) 0.09 Top 2%
Goal-creating actions (fouls drawn) 0.05 Top 9%
Stats via FBref
As you can see in the table above, the 20-year-old starlet was one of the most impressive central midfielders in the Premier League at driving with the ball and making things happen in possession in the 2023/24 campaign under Erik ten Hag.
Now, at the start of this season, Mainoo was an unused substitute in the first two matches of the Premier League season, against Arsenal and Fulham, and Amorim explained that it was because he is competing with Bruno Fernandes for a place in the team.
Mainoo Amorim quotes
Whilst you can rationalise what the manager says in the quotes above, as his midfield two typically has one creative player and one enforcer to complement each other, it seems like a waste of the talent that he has available to him.
Mainoo is capable of producing quality in the Premier League, such as the goal in the clip above, whilst Manuel Ugarte has made more appearances in the league than him this season, despite his disappointing performances.
The Uruguay international, who was signed from PSG in 2024, has not done enough to suggest that he should be prioritised over Mainoo, and INEOS must finally cash in on him when the transfer window opens again in January.
Why Man Utd should sell Manuel Ugarte
Per Capology, Ugarte currently earns £120k-per-week at Old Trafford. That is over four times as much as Mainoo earns per week (£25k), but his performances do not justify that expense.
The former Sporting star is a midfield destroyer who 'suits' Amorim's system as a partner for Bruno Fernandes or Mason Mount because he is naturally defensive-minded.
However, Ugarte was dribbled past 1.3 times per game in the Premier League last season, per Sofascore, whilst Mainoo was only dribbled past 0.6 times, which shows that opposition midfielders found it too easy to get the better of him.
Ugarte
He also won 53% of his duels and made two errors that led to shots or goals. Mainoo, meanwhile, won 45% of his duels and made one error that led to a shot or goal, per Sofascore, which suggests that they were both fairly indifferent in physical contests.
Ugarte is, therefore, not enough of an upgrade, if at all, in a defensive sense, to rationalise him playing in the first two Premier League games off the bench ahead of the England international.
These comments on Sky Sports from last October still ring true to this day, as the Uruguay international's 'lackadaisical' play on the ball was an issue for him throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
24/25 PL Ugarte Rank vs midfielders
Non-penalty goals 0.05 Bottom 41%
xAG 0.06 Bottom 30%
Shot-creating actions 1.56 Bottom 16%
Progressive passes 3.08 Bottom 18%
Progressive carries 0.81 Bottom 23%
Passes into the final third 2.96 Bottom 36%
Passes into the penalty area 0.45 Bottom 20%
Stats via FBref
As you can see in the table above, Ugarte was one of the worst central midfielders in the Premier League last season when it came to progressing play and making an impact at the top end of the pitch.
Therefore, the ex-PSG man has flopped at Old Trafford because he has not been reliable defensively, given how easy it has been for players to dribble past him, and he has struggled badly in possession.
Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte in action with Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi
Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte in action with Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi
In fact, a former Netherlands international claimed in October of last year that Ugarte was "walking" around the pitch and criticised Ten Hag and the club for signing players who are "not even good", referring to the midfielder.
INEOS must, therefore, cash in on Ugarte when they next get the chance to, because he is standing in Mainoo's way, despite not being better than the English starlet, and has been a big flop since his move from PSG with his underwhelming performances on the pitch.