Manuel Ugarte is set to become Man Utd’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window.
It was no secret Manchester United wanted to sign a midfielder before transfer deadline day and they deserve real credit for managing to get a deal for Manuel Ugarte done.
During Erik ten Hag’s first summer in charge, they failed in their prolonged pursuit of Frenkie de Jong and opted to change tact entirely for the opportunistic chance to sign Casemiro.
It is well-documented the Brazilian brought an added quality to the United side, but it was also clear he was not the perfect fit. He has still been good more than bad for the club, though it is obvious his stock is on the decline.
United learned from the transfer this summer. Ugarte was identified as their top target at the start of the window and they remained patient until the final week in the belief an agreement could be reached on their terms.
PSG demanded a fixed fee of €60m, United will pay €50m plus an additional €10m in bonuses, which will only be paid in full if his signing succeeds. It is one thing to try and play a hard game and another to pull it off. United have done their part, now Ugarte must prove he was worth the wait.
The 23-year-old is a tenacious tackler and an energetic addition to the midfield. For those of you hoping for United’s answer to Man City ace Rodri, Ugarte is not the player.
He does not control matches in the same manner or have the same passing range, but he does bring several valuable traits to the side.
It is perhaps better to think of Ugarte as a midfield version of Lisandro Martinez. He chases the ball like a disobedient dog, with a hunger to win it back at all costs, even if it means going through an opponent to get it, conceding an average of 2.1 fouls every game while in France.
Last season, he made the second-highest amount of tackles in Europe’s top five leagues. He was the only player in Ligue 1 to average more than 4.0 tackle attempts per 90 minutes (4.6), while his 2.7 successful tackles were also more than anyone else.
“When I win the ball back I’m happy,” he told PSG club media last year. “When we have the ball, it’s a game. When we don’t, it’s a fight.”
His former coach Juan Ramon Carrasco described Ugarte as having “seven lungs” and those physical traits, along with his exceptional injury record, are of huge appeal to Ten Hag as he looks to implement an intense pressing game.
Ugarte regained possession 8.4 possession times per 90 minutes last season, a stat only bettered by only two players in Ligue 1.
Yet there is a reason why he is even joining United and that is because PSG didn’t want him anymore.
After just a year at the club, they have replaced him with Joao Neves and Ugarte will be hungry to prove his doubters wrong.
The Uruguay international only averaged 4.1 progressive passes per game in Ligue 1, well below the league average of 5.4, and averaged 0.7 key passes per match, compared to the average of 1.2.
While he completed 91.4% of his passes last season, just 42 of his 1,314 open-play passes were deemed progressive.
Ugarte will no doubt look to improve in those areas, but he might not need too much anyway. Alongside him will be Kobbie Mainoo, one of the most naturally gifted footballers to grace the Premier League in recent years.
If the summer signing focuses on the dirty defensive work he enjoys so much, there will be an added freedom for Mainoo to pull the strings in midfield in the knowledge he has adequate protection behind him.
He might not have been the right fit for PSG but for this current United side, he could be perfect,.
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