Manuel Ugarte replaced Kobbie Mainoo against Leeds United, but struggled for most of the 90 minutes, as he has done for most of his Man Utd career.
Manuel Ugarte joined Manchester United in the summer of 2024 to add to Erik ten Hag's midfield options, and potentially take over from the ageing Casemiro, though the Brazilian was still considered one of the best midfielders in the world at that time.
Ugarte left Paris Saint-Germain after a difficult season, where fans had criticised him for his poor on-the-ball ability. The Uruguay international spent just one year in the French capital before moving to Old Trafford. His previous club, Sporting CP, was managed by then-up-and-coming manager Rúben Amorim.
So, when Amorim was announced as Erik ten Hag's replacement in November 2024, fans were excited that they would see the best out of Manuel Ugarte, especially given Casemiro's poor start to the season, featuring a half-time substitution against Liverpool with young Toby Collyer coming on to replace him.
Ugarte ended the 2024/25 Premier League season with 29 appearances to his name and another 10 in the Europa League. He ended the campaign in good form, with many questioning why he didn't start in the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Still, not everyone was sold on Ugarte. He would have to prove himself in 2025/26.
Back to the present day, Ugarte has failed to do that. In fact, his stock amongst United fans has lowered so much that he was receiving boos and jeers before he made his first pass of the game against Leeds United on Monday evening. But is he really that bad?
Ugarte's Man Utd form hasn't been good enough
Since the start of this season, Ugarte has played 22 Premier League games, but only 881 minutes in those appearances - that equates to less than 10 full matches in a red shirt. United's first-round knockouts in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup mean Ugarte hasn't had opportunities in other competitions, either.
In his league performances, Ugarte has either come off the bench to replace Casemiro, who appears to have rediscovered some of his best form, or take his place in the starting lineup, with the former Real Madrid man suspended. Against Leeds United, though, the two started together due to Kobbie Mainoo's slight knock in training.
"Over the last day or so, Kobbie just had an issue in training," Michael Carrick said to Sky Sports. "So it seems small, but big enough to keep him out tonight. It wasn't worth the risk, to be honest, so we're hoping it's pretty small, and it won't be too long.
"Manu comes in tonight. He came on and did well for us in the last game at Bournemouth, and went away and played well for Uruguay, so he's well up to speed.
"He's been great in training and done great all the way through, really and part of what we've done, even though it's not obvious because Kobbie and Case have played a lot. So yeah, comes in tonight, big opportunity for him to show himself, and we deal with Kobbie being out."
But, in truth, Ugarte did not look up to speed. From kick off, he looked nervous on the ball, and scared to progress forwards, instead looking for the safe option backwards. While that can be a sound strategy, it doesn't work when your other midfield partner does a similar thing. Casemiro is much better at progressing the ball than Ugarte, but he is no Bruno Fernandes or Kobbie Mainoo.
Rúben Amorim dropped Bruno Fernandes back to the double pivot in his 3-4-2-1 shape because the captain struggled to receive the ball in the final third. Michael Carrick should've deployed a similar strategy against Leeds, as Fernandes was forced to come deep from his starting No.10 position to involve himself in play.
Choosing Ugarte was never the right call, but that does not mean he was to blame.
Ugarte was not the worst performer
Until his goal, Casemiro looked like a shell of the player who has been so impressive this season. He was playing wayward passes and couldn't cover the ground to keep up with the Leeds attackers.
Ugarte was struggling, too. But the former PSG midfielder made three tackles, three blocks, three clearances, two interceptions and a ball recovery on Monday night. The 25-year-old also won six out of his nine ground duels (67%). Even on the ball, Ugarte played four passes into the final third, and 49 out of 56 accurate passes (88%).
Stats are never the be-all and end-all, but they can be used to show that some of the criticism was unjustified.
Ugarte was not the best player in a red shirt, but he certainly was not the worst, either.
Should he stay at the club this summer? Probably not. But would it be the worst thing if he did, especially with Casemiro leaving and Mainoo lacking a backup? I don't think so.