“I better not wake up soon and see this was all a dream.” “This is madness.” “We are moving.” “We’re so big time now.” “INEOS are you mad?” “My club finally acting like the biggest club it is.” Just a few of the reactions from Manchester United supporters when they realized they were signing Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain.
In their defense, it would have been hard not to get excited. After coming through Fénix’s academy, Ugarte enjoyed a smooth transition to European football during his time at Famalicão, where, after just half a season, he earned a move to Sporting CP. Ugarte excelled during his time at Sporting, replacing João Palhinha as the club’s midfield destroyer and honing his skills against a number of teams in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. It was these skills that prompted PSG to sign him for €60 million, where, after initially impressing in midfield, he lost his place after failing to correspond to Luis Enrique’s possession-oriented style of play.
Nevertheless, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And after arriving for €50 million, potentially increasing to €60 million with add-ons, Manchester United fans grew hopeful that Ugarte would replace Casemiro as the club’s midfield anchor. With every crunching tackle, with every last-ditch intervention, United supporters believed that Ugarte was on track to becoming one of the greatest-ever Uruguayan players to compete in the Premier League alongside the likes of Luis Suárez and Gustavo Poyet. But he struggled to adjust to Erik ten Hag’s style, and even after joining forces with the man who got the best out of him at Sporting – Rúben Amorim – he failed to adequately convince.
For all of Ugarte’s talents as a high-intensity ball winner, he simply hasn’t been able to adjust to the high standards of the Premier League. Unable to progress the ball forward and dribble out of pressure, he has appeared to be stranded on an island whether playing in a midfield duo or trio. Unable to control the tempo or link up play, Ugarte seems to be an anachronistic figure compared to more modern footballers like Kobbie Mainoo, and his willingness to rush forward and hunt the ball down has often opened up gaps in the center of the pitch.
And unlike Casemiro, who has led by example on and off the pitch, Ugarte has caught flak for being one of the first players to leave United’s training ground. He has not quite showcased the same commitment and self-sacrifice that made him into one of the top young talents in Portugal, and it’s why he’s struggled to seize on the opportunities afforded to him. Ever since missing out on last year’s Tottenham fixture and allowing Casemiro to reenter the side, Ugarte has found himself on the outside looking in. Even with Casemiro announcing that he will depart on a free transfer this summer, Ugarte’s fortunes haven’t improved under new manager Michael Carrick.
“I like Manu a lot, he’s been terrific around the group with his attitude and how we go about it, his training qualities,” stated Carrick. “He’s got a lot of good attributes, when the team is winning there is a big upside to that. For one or two boys who haven’t played as much, it makes it a little bit tougher to get in the team, but everyone is pushing each other.”
When Casemiro leaves this summer, he will do so as a widely respected veteran leader who connected with United’s fans and who set the standard with his work ethic and quality on and off the ball. And in the increasingly likely event that Ugarte leaves this summer, he will leave through the backdoor.