Think Ugarte can’t pass? Think again – Man Utd’s midfield general has 20/20 vision

Before he’s even kicked a ball for Manchester United, Manuel Ugarte has already been deemed a failure and placed on fraud watch by football’s online crowd.

And while we’re aware that the standards at a club like United should be higher than normal, the standard has to at least be attainable in the first place.

In an era of inflated transfer fees, new-age fans and an obsession with winning the transfer window first and foremost, online football fans have wasted no time in digging the knife into United’s £51million signing of Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain, the consensus being that he couldn’t pass wind if he tried, never mind a ball.

You know, the very same Ugarte who the very same online fans were most likely hyping up as the best young midfielder in the world ahead of his move to Paris last summer.

Make it make sense.

The Red Devils have been notoriously poor in the transfer market over the last decade and if they’re experts in anything these days, it would admittedly be in haemorrhaging money like it’s nobody’s business.

Having said that, there is no denying Ugarte’s status as one of the best, young defensive midfielders in European football.

It was the case while he was at Benfica, it was still the case at PSG despite it not working out, and there’s no evidence to suggest otherwise at United yet – because he hasn’t even kicked a ball for them.

Erik ten Hag’s side are in dire need of a destroyer with three lungs and legs capable of tackling anyone and anything to sit alongside the uber cool Kobbie Mainoo and allow the Dutch coach to more effectively implement his transition-heavy style.

Ugarte was identified as the natural fit to fill that gap with Casemiro advancing in age, a tackling machine who admittedly lacks the same productivity with the ball at his feet. However, this is an elite-level footballer we’re talking about.

Not only can the 23-year-old pass the ball, he can pass it well – very well in small doses. And his most recent international break with Uruguay was the perfect demonstration of that.

I may of been wrong on Ugarte you know… pic.twitter.com/7hhTVntW4Z

— . (@utdcynical) September 11, 2024

When not claiming ankles with challenges that are designed to get the Stretford End off their feet and prompt a roar from the Theatre of Dreams as a whole, Ugarte was quietly putting on a clinic in zapping laser-guided sh*tpingers through the lines for ex-Red Facundo Pellistri.

Imagine that.

A crunching tackle leaving an opponent in the heap on the floor, before getting his head up and firing one down the line for Alejandro Garnacho or Marcus Rashford to latch onto, as a collective ‘GO ON!’ reverberates around Old Trafford in anticipation of a timeless United counter-attack.

Some things are just meant to be.

READ NEXT: 7 former Man Utd players we can’t believe are still playing in 2024

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Man Utd’s 20 heaviest Premier League defeats?

Is this us saying Ugarte is perfect? Absolutely not. An inevitable red card here and there in the Premier League’s winter months, followed by a hospital ball or two will no doubt provide fuel for a highly-anticipated social media assassination at some point this season.

However, that doesn’t mean we should collectively write him off from the get-go. The Uruguayan averaged 1.6 interceptions and 3.9 tackles per 90 last season, along with 5.8 ground duels won per 90. He’s an off-the-ball menace who United have very clearly been desperate for.

He might not be perfect, but there’s quietly a brilliant pass in his locker too, which means he might just be United’s idea of perfect, doing the dirty work for Mainoo and the rest, before recycling play or sending one in behind himself.

The critics have spoken way too soon on the Red Devils’ new recruit. Write him off at your peril.

By Mitch Wilks