After Casemiro’s struggles in the previous campaign, Manchester United decided to spend big on Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte in the summer.
Erik ten Hag eased him into action, claiming he needed more time to adapt to the rigours of the English game. Reports suggested that the Dutchman was not a fan of his signing and that he wanted other options in his stead.
INEOS were not too pleased with the former Ajax coach’s methods nor with the results and ultimately decided to sack him, placing Ruud van Nistelrooy in interim charge.
And the former United striker did a fine job steadying the ship, as the team went unbeaten in four games, winning three of them, while scoring 11 goals in the process.
RvN backed Ugarte
After receiving plenty of early criticism, Van Nistelrooy backed Ugarte, and claimed that he would be brilliant signing for the club moving forward.
“I’m convinced Manuel will be a great player for United. Getting players in an early conclusion, players that are here for two or three months, you should be careful with that I think.
“It’s a great signing, very good player, professional, he has very specific qualities in midfield, gets in between players, can recover a lot of balls for us to get us in attacking positions.”
And that faith and regular minutes allowed the Uruguayan to finally shine in a red shirt, with his recent displays drawing plaudits.
Currently on international duty, the defensive midfielder was asked about his slow start and how he felt about his fitness currently.
“I feel very good now,” Ugarte told reporters. “It always takes time to adapt to the league, which I think is the best league in the world and that demands a lot from you.”
Amorim excited about the future
The current run of form has United only four points off the top four. And the Uruguay international was pleased with the progress. With new head coach Ruben Amorim coming in, a feel-good factor seems to be back at the club.
“I am very happy with how we are doing with the club. There is a lot of optimism and I feel very good physically.”
It must be remembered that the 23-year-old has played under Amorim during his time at Sporting Lisbon and that must give him the edge when it comes to adapting to the coach’s demands.
The new United coach has already spoken about how happy he is to reunite with the United star and hopefully, the duo can work in tandem to ensure a good end to the season.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
