Manchester United’s latest signing analysed

Manchester United’s signing of Manuel Ugarte for an initial £42.3m made it a fifth acquisition of the 2024 summer transfer window, including Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee. Taking the Uruguayan off Paris Saint-Germain’s hands has given Erik ten Hag a second holding-midfield option, along with the experienced Casemiro. And it came after Ugarte, a Uruguay international, was named in the 2023 Copa América Team of the Tournament, having just won Ligue 1 and the French Cup with PSG.

Born in 2001, Ugarte grew up in Montevideo, where he joined his first professional club, Centro Atlético Fénix. It wasn’t long before he made his first-team debut, becoming the youngest player this century to play professionally in Uruguay, at 15 years and 233 days old.

After a short spell with Portuguese club Famalicão in 2021, he moved on to Primeira Liga giants, Sporting Clube de Portugal. He played 85 games across two seasons, before PSG came calling as he continued to shine. Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed his game from his time in France and Portugal…

Technical analysis

Manuel Ugarte is a right-footed defensive midfielder, with experience as a single pivot and in a central-midfield pairing. His duelling, interceptions and ability to regain possession are standout strengths. Tenacious and aggressive, he provides ideal protection ahead of the back line, in particular the central defence. When opponents are targeting space between the lines, Ugarte’s 1v1 defending is very strong, adding further protection to this central part of the pitch.

He is agile when changing direction, adapting well to the movement of the ball – especially when attackers try to combine centrally. This allows him to adjust his positioning, often changing who he is marking or the space he is occupying. He then aggressively jumps out to duel, tackle, intercept or compete for loose balls.

His willingness to try to regain possession is evident even when his opponent has initially beaten him in a 1v1. It is similarly apparent in his emergency defending when covering for a teammate’s error or poor positioning. As such, Ugarte tends to win the ball back more than those around him. He doesn’t give up easily, and enters duels with appropriate aggression (below).

Defending higher

Ugarte’s defensive contributions have also been noteworthy higher up the pitch. Although it is rare to see him pressing high in the first line, he does cover and protect underneath, as part of the second unit. He adapts well here too, recognising when to change opponent, shift into a new space or jump forward to add an extra number to the press. He is capable of blocking passing lanes into central opponents, and intelligent enough to reposition and compete for loose balls.

Another strength is his ability to lock the edge of the opposition penalty area. Ugarte’s first job here is to limit or delay opposing counter-attacks, often by jumping out towards the ball as teammates positioned slightly deeper begin to recover back to protect the space. In these situations, Ugarte has shown he can delay the opposing ball-carrier, not necessarily by winning the ball, but often stopping them from driving forward and, where possible, turning (below). This also allows teammates to back-press and double up on the opponent.

Because of his aggressive nature in these moments, he will also regain possession high up the pitch. This saves his teammates from running back, while facilitating counters in, or close to, the final third. His aggression can also lead to fouls, but when they occur high up the pitch, he at least nullifies opposing counter-attacks.

With the ball, Ugarte’s ability to receive when facing direct pressure helps him maintain possession. He can evade opponents in a variety of ways, including letting the ball roll across his body, turning safe-side, and using subtle body-feints, disguising his intentions (below). Although he isn’t a midfielder to break multiple lines, play in-behind or accurately slice through a block, he does keep possession well, and can help control a build.

Single pivot

With PSG, Ugarte operated as the single pivot in Luis Enrique’s 4-3-3 shape. In the 2023/24 campaign, Ugarte recorded the second-most defensive duels in Ligue 1, helping protect PSG’s back line. He also ranked third among PSG players for interceptions, limiting access ahead of the centre-backs. His ability to intercept and regain possession, as opposing centre-forwards attempted to link with runners from midfield, also helped restrict opponents being able to exploit this space.

With PSG often committing their full-backs forward, Ugarte’s delaying actions bought time for them to recover back, often supported by at least one of the number eights (below). The downside to his defensive aggression between the lines was that he committed the most fouls for PSG in 2023/24.

The French club averaged 64.6 per cent possession across the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season, with Ugarte key as the single pivot. He played a significant number of passes across the pitch, helping connect one side to the other, often via short but simple passages of play. This was particularly helpful, as key attacking outlets such as Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé could then receive the ball more frequently.

When Mbappé moved into, or began in, central areas, Ugarte’s patient passing helped to probe and move opposing midfielders. He created space by drawing out opponents, for Mbappé to then operate in slightly bigger spaces. Ugarte’s receiving also helped him avoid pressure, and find teammates who widened or moved forward. Dropping number eights or advancing wide defenders could then receive as Ugarte drew opponents in with his first touch, then played around for teammates to progress.

Double pivot

At Sporting, Ugarte operated in a central-midfield pairing, in a 3-4-3 structure, in both 2021/22 and 2022/23. In the latter campaign, he recorded the most defensive duels in the entire Primeira Liga, and the most interceptions for Sporting. Although he played less in the 2021/22 season, he had the highest interceptions per 90 minutes, and the second-most defensive duels per 90, behind only João Palhinha.

As part of the double pivot, Ugarte often had an extra teammate behind him as part of the back-line trio. This gave him more licence to jump forward, to press and duel. Operating with a deeper partner in midfield also allowed him to defend higher, earlier and for longer periods, connecting with the front line when regaining the ball. Compared to playing in a 4-3-3 at PSG, at Sporting he was more versatile with his duelling, with licence to cover more ground.

With the ball, Ugarte had a wider centre-back around him to connect into advancing wing-backs. He also had more central teammates in the 3-4-3, compared to PSG’s 4-3-3, so he would often link with the number 10s between the lines, and the centre-forward when possible. The likes of Pedro Gonçalves, Marcus Edwards and Trincão received from Ugarte, especially as they looked to combine and connect around the opposing centre-backs (below).

Ugarte’s central midfield partner – often Hidemasa Morita – also looked to run forward. Morita added an extra player between the lines, but also rotated with one of the number 10s or a wing-back. In these moments, Ugarte became a temporary single pivot, with three centre-backs behind him. This movement usually occurred when Sporting were playing against a low block, when Ugarte would also drop deeper to deliver simple, short passes to circulate the ball. At the same time, he was also positioned to defend any counter-attack.

These are all qualities that convinced Manchester United he was a player they needed to sign, and which they will expect to see at Old Trafford. The stage is set for Ugarte to take his next steps, on one of the biggest stages in the Premier League.

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Author: The Coaches' Voice