Manuel Ugarte has played a bit-part role at Manchester United, but Michael Carrick still has faith in the Uruguayan midfielder.
January was a quiet month for Manchester United in terms of transfers, but not when it came to sacking Ruben Amorim and appointing Michael Carrick as head coach two weeks later.
There were no arrivals, unlike last year when Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu arrived on deadline day, but United did extend their loanee list.
With the transfer window now shut, Carrick knows what players he has to work with for the remainder of the season, although additions weren’t expected midway through the season after missing out on Antoine Semenyo to Man City.
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That means United will focus on the summer ahead. They will also be using this time to decide on the next head coach, unless Carrick proves worthy by securing Champions League qualification.
United must keep winning football matches to book a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition, with all eyes on the upcoming game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.
Manuel Ugarte after coming off the bench against Fulham
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Michael Carrick is backing Manuel Ugarte despite struggles
Despite being linked with a move to Ajax in January, Manuel Ugarte will remain at Old Trafford until the end of the season.
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The 24-year-old has made just seven starts in the Premier League this season and has fallen down the pecking order following Kobbie Mainoo’s return to the team.
However, as a substitute, Ugarte has featured in two of Carrick’s three matches since returning to the club as head coach.
Ugarte came off the bench for 15 minutes in United’s 3-2 win over Fulham, but it doesn’t reflect well that the Cottagers scored their two goals while he was on the pitch.
Although Ugarte’s stats are questionable this season, Carrick insists the Uruguay international could still play a big role for United this season.
Carrick was quizzed on not adding any midfielders to his squad in January and if he’d have any solutions if his starting midfield duo of Casemiro and Mainoo picked up injuries.
“All sorts of things can happen, so it’s not one fix,” Carrick told reporters at his pre-match press conference.
“We’ve got a really good balance of the squad in general. So, there’s plenty of solutions for us. Manu [Ugarte] has obviously come on [in recent games] and he’s going to be a big part of our squad and our team between now and the end of the season, sharing the load.
“We’ve got different things we can do; it depends what happens. We’ve got to be able to adapt and be flexible but I’m confident we can find the right solutions if we need to. At the moment, we’re pretty stable and in good shape.”
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What has Rio Ferdinand said about Manuel Ugarte?
Former United defender Rio Ferdinand recently expressed disappointment at Ugarte following his performances since joining United from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024.
Ugarte has been unable to kick on having moved from Paris to Manchester, although he did have struggles under Luis Enrique.
Speaking on his YouTube channel about Ugarte, Ferdinand said: “I’ve got to be honest, I have been disappointed with Ugarte. He is one player who, when he came in, everybody said he’s got legs, he can tackle, he can move. The description I was getting was that he was the right type of player we needed.
“It just hasn’t materialised, it hasn’t come to the fore. I haven’t seen the player that everybody was talking about before in terms of being able to get up against people quickly and tackle.
“That’s meant to be a big part of his game, being aggressive. He hasn’t put a marker down in a game that’s made me think, ‘This guy could be one of our midfield dogs or controllers who is really going to get things going in the midfield.’ He hasn’t got anywhere near that.”
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