Manuel Ugarte is close to signing for Man Utd and he could make his debut as early as this weekend in a huge Premier League fixture for his new club.
When Manuel Ugarte spoke to the in-house broadcasters at Paris Saint-Germain towards the end of last September, he would have still been envisioning a long and successful career in the French capital.
United's recruitment team were aware of Ugarte last summer, when he moved from Sporting in Portugal to PSG for €60m. At that stage, they were still happy with Casemiro, but as the Brazilian's game regressed, they alighted on his fellow South American as the ideal replacement. Asked during that interview if he saw football as a game or a battle, he smiled as delivered an answer that will be music to the ears of United fans.
As Casemiro's defensive impact has diminished, Ugarte's presence as a holding midfielder with bite and energy could unleash the qualities elsewhere in central areas for United. The former Real Madrid man has excelled with the ball this season, but opposition teams are exploiting the space around the 32-year-old and Kobbie Mainoo is spending more time fighting fires alongside him.
"Trying to read when you lose the ball, being there to get it back quickly, but I don't really know where I worked on that. Maybe it's innate? I know I'm good at it and it comes naturally to me, but it's something I feel comfortable with and fortunate it works well." United vs Liverpool would be the Premier League's version of a Classique and as Ten Hag looks to get one over on countryman Arne Slot, he might be tempted to field a player who could try and disrupt Liverpool's control and he would relish the contact that comes with this contest.
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