Manuel Ugarte: Everything you need to know about Man Utd transfer target

After securing the services of Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee, Manchester United's new transfer committee have turned their attentions to the team's midfield.

Having scoured Europe, it seems that the Red Devils have found their ideal midfield signing in 23-year-old Manuel Ugarte.

According to reports, the Uruguay international has already agree personal terms ahead of his move to Old Trafford.

So...who is he?

Well, that's the question that we at 90min are here to answer for you:

What are his strengths?

Off-the-ball, there were very, very few midfielders better than Ugarte in Ligue 1 last season.

The Uruguayan is incredibly proficient at winning the ball back for his team. He averaged a whopping 4.11 tackles per 90 minutes throughout the 2023/24 campaign, making 98 for his team in just 25 games. To put that into context, no Man Utd midfielder has made that many challenges in a single season in any of the last 18 years.

On-the-ball, Ugarte is pretty damn solid too.

The holding midfielder completed a very respectable 91.2% of his attempted passes last season, exemplifying the fact that he can also keep hold of the ball after winning it back.

What are his weaknesses?

Let's just say Ugarte won't be helping Man Utd out much in the final third.

In total, the midfielder has bagged a grand total of five goals and nine assists throughout the entirety of his career to date (200 games), and he had just five touches of the ball in the opposition penalty area all last season in Ligue 1.

How has he performed at PSG?

After signing for PSG last summer for €60m from Sporting CP, Ugarte hit the ground running in during his first few months in Ligue 1.

Thanks to his performances, he even earned himself a nomination for player of the month in August, having won possession for his team a whopping 41 times in his first four games.

Soon after, however, the midfielder lost his place in the PSG starting XI due to Luis Enrique believing that he didn't fit in with his tactical plans. As a result, Ugarte only managed 21 starts in the league last season, coming off the bench a further four times.

What footballer, past or present, does he compare to?

According to his former manager Ruben Amorim - who he worked with at Sporting - Ugarte 'has similar characteristics to Joao Palhinha', a player who was the best midfield destroyer in the Premier League during his two seasons on the books at Fulham, making more tackles than any other player in consecutive campaigns.

If Man Utd are signing a younger version of Palhinha, then it's fair to say they're doing some pretty damn good business here.

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