Manuel Ugarte: Michael Carrick defends United man amidst widespread criticism

Manuel Ugarte: Michael Carrick defends United man amidst widespread criticism

Manuel Ugarte’s Manchester United career has not quite lived up to the billing since his £50 million move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024.

After a solid start, the Uruguayan’s struggles on the ball have become increasingly evident and the pace of the Premier League has caught Ugarte out far too often.

Interim head coach Michael Carrick has regularly chosen Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo over the 25-year-old, whose days at Old Trafford look set to come to an end in the summer.

Defence of poor form

However, Ugarte was trusted to start United’s first fixture in three weeks on Monday night, which ultimately ended in disaster with fierce rivals Leeds United taking three points from Old Trafford in a shock 2-1 win.

Ugarte endured another tough evening and came in for widespread criticism from fans and pundits alike, with former United captains Gary Neville and Roy Keane singling him out after the game.

Neville claimed Ugarte is “limited on the ball” and did not fancy the pairing of himself and Casemiro before the fixture, with Keane also slamming his “lack of quality”.

Despite this, as reported by The Metro, Carrick had only positive words for the midfielder after the game and praised Ugarte for his commitment and energy, particularly after the controversial sending off of Lisandro Martinez.

“Tonight was a tough game, not just for Manu, I think it was just one of those games where it was a tough night,” Carrick said.

“I actually thought, especially when we went down to 10 men, he was really important and he did a lot of covering for other players to be able to attack, so actually I thought he did well especially the longer the game went on.”

Carrick’s assessment will come as a comfort to Ugarte, who may well be called upon in the crucial remaining six games with Kobbie Mainoo’s fitness still a concern.

Last hurrah

It is expected that the next month or so will be Ugarte’s last as a Manchester United player, and he will surely want to do well in what is left of his career at Old Trafford should that be the case.

INEOS have made it clear that improving United’s midfield options is the priority in the summer, and Ugarte is predicted to follow his fellow South American, Casemiro, out of the doors at the end of the campaign.

Despite this, the former PSG man could be called upon at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night and would go some way to leaving on a high if he is to help get the better of Chelsea’s powerful midfield duo of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.

Should United leave West London victorious at the weekend, Champions League football would be all but secured and Ugarte, alongside the rest of his teammates, will consider that a huge success given the trials and tribulations of the season as a whole.

Rumours of a move to Italy are rife for Ugarte, who would no doubt suit the tempo of Serie A much more than the helter-skelter nature of the English game that has proved too much for the midfield man.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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