Manuel Ugarte to Manchester United: Everything you need to know about the Uruguayan ball-winning machine
Manchester United have announced the signing of Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain before Friday’s transfer deadline.
The Uruguayan becomes the Red Devils’ fifth senior signing of the summer, following Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui to Old Trafford.
It is understood United and PSG have agreed a deal worth €50m plus a further €10m in add-ons for Ugarte, who has signed a five-year contract with the option to extend his stay for a further 12 months in Manchester.
Why did PSG sell Manuel Ugarte?
The Ligue 1 giants signed Ugarte from Sporting only 12 months earlier in a deal worth €60m after he impressed clubs around Europe with his ball-winning ability. During the 2022/23 season, Ugarte won more tackles than any other player in Primeira Liga.
His start in the French capital was impressive, but as the season progressed Luis Enrique seemingly phased him out of his side. He went on to make 37 appearances across all competitions. However, he was handed just 21 league starts.
Ugarte’s technical ability and range of passing is not ideal for the holding midfielder in Enrique’s possession-based system which demands a lot of contribution from the player during the build-up phase.
Why have Manchester United signed Manuel Ugarte?
As far as Erik ten Hag’s transition-focused setup is concerned, it demands intensity and a lot of ground coverage from its defensive midfielder, who often finds himself in one-v-one situation up and down the pitch.
On that front, there aren’t many midfielders better than Ugarte in Europe. Akin to Kante, the 23-year-old is a ball-winning machine with impeccable positional awareness.
An interesting stat from Opta reads: “4.6 – Manuel Ugarte made 4.6 tackles per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season – the last player to make that many in a Ligue 1 campaign and move to the Premier League the following season was N’Golo Kanté in 2014-15 for Caen (5 per 90) before joining Leicester. Manchester?”
In possession, Ugarte likes to retain the ball and find his more creative teammates rather than losing possession in an attempt to play between the lines. This shouldn’t be a big issue for Ten Hag, whose side progress the play from wide areas.
Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa aptly used Ugarte’s passing range during this summer’s Copa America, seemingly demanding the midfielder to find his teammates through quick diagonal passes. The youngster was named in the Copa America team of the tournament.
Further, a report from The Athletic suggested the club’s hierarchy are pleased to get their hands on Ugarte, who they consider “one of the best young midfielders” in the game.