The Uruguayan midfielder could make his debut in a huge match against Liverpool on Sunday.
Manchester United boosted its roster by signing Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth around $55.5 million.
The crafty midfielder could make his Old Trafford debut in a huge match against Liverpool on Sunday. Ugarte has international experience and was part of the Uruguay National Team that competed in the Copa América tournament, where he was named to the Team of the Tournament this summer.
At Manchester United, Ugarte will be paired with
Casemiro as another holding midfielder who can help dictate the game’s pace. That was an area where the club struggled in a stunning 2–1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. João Pedro scored the game-winner with an unmarked header for Brighton in the fifth minute of extra time after
Amad had tied the score for United in the 60th minute.
Ugarte is the fifth player that Manchester United’s manager Erik ten Hag has signed this summer, joining 18-year-old center-back
Leny Yoro, Netherlands international
Matthijs de Ligt,
striker Joshua Zirkzee, and
Noussair Mazraoui, a member of the upstart Morocco national team who has the versatility to play right and left back.
Ugarte
began his career in Uruguay for Fenix, where he made his professional debut in December 2016 at age 15.
After
switching from striker to midfielder, Ugarte signed with Portuguese side Famalicão in December 2020 and made his debut one month later. He eventually earned a starting role in the midfield for Famalicão, which just missed out on qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
In the summer of 2021, Ugarte signed with a bigger Portuguese club,
Sporting CP. He scored his
first goal for the club on Jan. 2, 2022, in a 2–1 victory over his former club, Famalicão. Ugarte also performed well in the
Champions League, finishing with 12 tackles in a 3–0 victory against German Bundesliga side, Eintracht Frankfurt.
In July 2023,
Ugarte moved to Paris Saint-Germain and was one of three nominees for the UNFP Player of the Month award in August of that year. Overall, Ugarte appeared in
37 games across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain. He played a key role in the club’s Ligue 1 title and victories in the Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions.
Ugarte also started five of six matches for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League group stage. However, he was not in the starting lineup for all six
knockout stage games, which was a harbinger of his exit from the club.
He will now join Manchester United, which opened the EPL’s regular season with a 1–0 win over Fulham after losing to Manchester City on penalty kicks in the Community Shield.
Ugarte should have a defined role in the club’s structure. The club has struggled defensively and allowed both goals to Brighton because players were unmarked. Ugarte is a fierce tackler and will add more aggressiveness to Manchester United’s ability to keep the pressure on its opponents.
“I think often we did the right things,” ten Hag
told the press after the match on Saturday. “Often we had success—when we won trophies and won other big games where we took the points. On this occasion today, it should have been better. In the Community Shield, we should’ve been better. On many occasions, we have done well in situations where we’ve got the score over the line.”
Ugarte could help solve some of those issues by helping control the midfield and helping Manchester United dominate possession. Nonetheless, even with the addition of Ugarte and several other players, the Red Devils will be hard-pressed to win the English Premier League, with Manchester City the heavy favorite.
The goal could be a top-four finish to qualify for the Champions League competition. Ugarte should be able to help meet those expectations.
