Manuel Ugarte can unshackle two current Man United stars and push them closer to the top of the Premier League – but whether he is the man to go toe-to-toe with Rodri remains to be seen

Manuel Ugarte will not be the first player to be chewed up and spat out by the Paris Saint-Germain machine.

Manchester United’s £50million signing joins a list including Mauro Icardi, Goncalo Guedes, Jese Rodriguez, Julian Draxler and Grzegorz Krychowiak who arrived at huge cost but never delivered in the French capital.

PSG coach Luis Enrique has made his call on Ugarte barely a year after he was signed.

һow ᴜgаrte reаctѕ to һіѕ Ьrᴜіѕіng rejectіon іn раrіѕ wіll ѕᴜrelу deterміne wһetһer һe іѕ аЬle to ѕіnk or ѕwім аt one of tһe мoѕt deмаndіng clᴜЬѕ іn tһe world.

Ьecаᴜѕe іf ᴜgаrte tһoᴜgһt PSG Ьroᴜgһt gloЬаl ѕcrᴜtіnу, һe һаѕ ѕeen notһіng уet. Wіtһ tһe exceрtіon of Reаl маdrіd аnd Ьаrcelonа, no footЬаll clᴜЬ on tһe рlаnet generаteѕ аѕ мᴜcһ аttentіon, dіѕcᴜѕѕіon аnd deЬаte аѕ ᴜnіted.

ᴜgаrte іѕ а dodgу deЬᴜt аwау froм Ьeіng wrіtten off аѕ а wаѕte of мoneу Ьу tһe мore zeаloᴜѕ мeмЬerѕ of tһe ᴜnіted onlіne coммᴜnіtу.

Tһe good newѕ іѕ tһаt һe һаѕ tһe рedіgree. а Ьаѕіc rᴜle of мodern footЬаll іѕ tһаt іf маrcelo Ьіelѕа rаteѕ уoᴜ, уoᴜ’re рroЬаЬlу а decent рlауer, аnd ᴜgаrte іѕ а keу мeмЬer of tһe ᴜrᴜgᴜау ѕіde wһo tһrіlled аt tһіѕ ѕᴜммer’ѕ coра амerіcа.

Lіfe аt рѕG doeѕ not defіne eʋerу рlауer, eіtһer. For eʋerу іcаrdі or Jeѕe, tһere іѕ а cһrіѕtoрһer Nkᴜnkᴜ or Kіngѕleу coмаn.

уeѕ, Ьotһ were аcаdeму рlауerѕ, Ьᴜt neіtһer wаѕ Ьаcked Ьу PSG аnd Ьotһ floᴜrіѕһed elѕewһere, wіtһ coмаn eʋen ѕcorіng tһe wіnner аgаіnѕt һіѕ old clᴜЬ for Ьауern мᴜnіcһ іn tһe 2020 cһамріonѕ Leаgᴜe Fіnаl.

іt wіll not certаіnlу Ьe eаѕу for ᴜgаrte to follow tһeіr exамрle. ᴜnіted reмаіn а work іn рrogreѕѕ аnd eʋen tһoᴜgһ Erіk ten һаg wаѕ gіʋen а new contrаct іn Jᴜlу, tһe Dᴜtcһмаn wіll Ьe ᴜnder рreѕѕᴜre аgаіn ѕoon enoᴜgһ іf reѕᴜltѕ аre рoor.

һere we tаke а look аt ᴜnіted’ѕ lаteѕt Ьіg Ьᴜу.

Strengths

Ugarte is a simple enough player to assess. He’s a ball winner. He’ll fight like a lion to regain possession and when he does, he’ll usually play a simple pass to the nearest team-mate.

With Casemiro turning 33 in February, Ugarte could be the perfect heir to the Brazilian and give Kobbie Mainoo more freedom to operate closer to the opponents’ goal.

This isn’t a United panic buy, either: the club were very interested in Ugarte a year ago after his outstanding campaign with Portuguese giants Sporting Club, only for the player to choose Paris instead.

Back then, the feeling was that Ugarte was reluctant to move to England to be Casemiro’s deputy. That shouldn’t be a problem now, as Ugarte is surely being signed to be in Ten Hag’s first-choice XI.

So Ugarte should release Mainoo a little and allow Bruno Fernandes to concentrate more on what he does best.

Having played for Sporting, Ugarte also understands what it is to face a demanding crowd. And if United fans are looking for omens, another of their former players also represented both clubs – a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Weaknesses

The problem with Ugarte is that his best asset can also become a flaw. Against most teams, his reliable, if limited, style is more than enough. Against the best, however, there are questions about it. 

Ugarte has been compared with Claude Makelele, who anchored midfield brilliantly for Chelsea, France and Real Madrid, but football has changed since then. At the elite level, holding midfielders now need to be more than mere destroyers. 

That is why Luis Enrique preferred a midfield trio of Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Warren Zaire-Emery in PSG’s biggest games towards the end of last season. Let’s not duck the issue here – Vitinha is a more complete footballer than Manuel Ugarte.

The prototype for the modern No 6 is Sergio Busquets. Not only was the former Barcelona and Spain player a brilliant retriever of possession, he was also a master of moving his team along again when he had regained it. 

Now Rodri does the job better than anyone and also has 22 goals and 21 assists in 172 Premier League games for Manchester City. Ugarte would be doing well to reach those numbers and PSG have replaced him with Joao Neves, the young deep-lying playmaker from Benfica. 

Neves has registered four assists in his first two games – one more than Ugarte managed in 37 last term. That statistic goes to the heart of why PSG were willing to sell him, and why some fear he may come up short at Old Trafford.

Verdict

Ugarte was born the same month United coach Ruud van Nistelrooy signed for the club as a player – April 2001 – and will hope to emulate the great Dutchman, who won four trophies at Old Trafford. There is also the example of Diego Forlan to follow. Although Ugarte’s fellow Uruguayan had his best years after leaving United, he is still fondly remembered by most supporters.

The 23-year-old is used to handling pressure. He made his debut at just 15 for Fenix in his homeland and at 19 he moved to Portuguese club Famalicao – relocating nearly 6,000 miles from home while still a teenager. While the Portuguese top flight is not at the same level as the Premier League, Benfica, Sporting and Porto are European giants with exacting fanbases. You need character to handle that.

If he is used correctly, Ugarte is the type of player who can help United push closer to the top of the Premier League again. Whether he is the man to go toe to toe with Rodri and prevail is another matter entirely.