Erik Ten Hag Could Use £42m Star to Solve Man Utd Issue Ahead of Brentford

Manchester United star Manuel Ugarte played at centre-back for Uruguay on Saturday evening, featuring in a 1-0 loss to Peru in the CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifiers – and with some outlets praising him for his performance, Erik ten Hag could look to utilise him at centre-back to solve a huge defensive crisis that the Red Devils are currently going through.

Ugarte signed from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer for an initial fee of £42million, though he was made to wait for his chance before featuring more regularly over the past few weeks. With three starts coming against Twente, Barnsley and Tottenham Hotspur, he’s finding his feet in English football and will continue to be bled into the squad where appropriate – though that could come sooner than anticipated if Ten Hag can use him in a centre-back role.

Ugarte Could Play At Centre-Back With Maguire Injured

The defensive-minded star could feature well in a new role

Ugarte featured at centre-back for Uruguay on Friday, marking only his second performance at the heart of defence in his professional career, having featured there for PSG at the start of the calendar year – albeit in a 9-0 away win over sixth-tier minnows US Revel in the French Cup.

The midfielder was selected in a back-three alongside ex-United man Guillermo Varela and Wolverhampton Wanderers star Santiago Bueno by former Premier League boss Marcelo Bielsa, with Uruguay having been in poor form in recent times. However, an 88th minute winner from Miguel Araujo saw them leave Lima empty-handed and without a win in their last six games.

Some outlets seemed to criticise the Red Devils star by giving him a 4/10 rating, with El Pais claiming that Ugarte ‘took too many risks’ which affected his performance – though El Observador believed that he was Uruguay’s best player, giving him an 8/10 rating for his daring nature in bringing the ball out of defence..

With United suffering from a centre-back crisis, their summer signing could slot into the back line as a contingency plan should he be needed, if he can keep up those 8/10 ratings. Harry Maguire has recently picked up a leg injury which sees him out injured, Lisandro Martinez is out of form, and summer signing Leny Yoro is still on the sidelines after picking up an injury in pre-season – and so proactive measures must be taken to stop United slipping down the table, which could see Ugarte join their backline alongside Matthijs de Ligt and Jonny Evans.

Ugarte Must Improve to be Successful at United

But that will come with adaptation and patience

The summer signing was scorned for his performance against Tottenham Hotspur at the end of September, failing to track Micky van de Ven as the Dutch centre-back breezed through United’s midfield to square for Brennan Johnson, who turned home after just three minutes.

That set United up for a 3-0 loss, and his lack of defensive nous was a huge reason for their loss and hugely indicative of their campaign so far. The South American has come in as a long-term replacement for Casemiro, but he’ll have to up his standards if he is to shine at the Theatre of Dreams – and filling in at centre-back could enhance that.

Still only 23, Ugarte has plenty of time to learn until he comes into the fold properly and that could see him endure a slow start before venturing on a successful career at Old Trafford.

Related

Uruguayan Media Split Over Man Utd Star Manuel Ugarte Performance

Uruguayan media have been split on the performance of Man Utd star Manuel Ugarte for the national team after he was fielded as a centre-back.

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored. Correct as of 13-10-24.