Erik ten Hag drops important Manuel Ugarte update ahead of Man Utd’s Premier League clash vs Southampton

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Erik ten Hag has provided a major update on Manchester United summer signing Manuel Ugarte ahead of the trip to the St Mary’s for the Southampton clash.

Manuel Ugarte was heavily linked with Manchester United in the summer before the Red Devils finally landed the 23-year-old defensive midfielder on deadline day.

The Red Devils agreed an initial fee of £42.3m, including a potential £8.5m in add-ons, to bring Ugarte to Old Trafford from French side Paris Saint-Germain.

Ugarte was unveiled to United fans at Old Trafford before the 3-0 Premier League defeat to Liverpool ahead of the September international break.

Ugarte has been away from Old Trafford during the international break and the United star has featured for Uruguay during their World Cup qualifiers.

The former PSG midfielder played 79 minutes in the 0-0 draw against Paraguay before Ugarte saw out the full 90 minutes in the 0-0 draw against Venezuela.

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Ten Hag makes Ugarte claim for Southampton match

Manuel Ugarte has been tipped to feature in the first Premier League match for Manchester United since the start of the international break.

United boss Erik ten Hag had been keen to bring in a new defensive midfielder ahead of the summer transfer window shutting.

Casemiro has played alongside Kobbie Mainoo in midfield and the former Real Madrid star was ruthlessly slammed for his display against Liverpool.

The 32-year-old Brazilian midfielder only managed 45 minutes in the 3-0 defeat to the Reds before Ten Hag withdrew him for academy prospect Toby Collyer.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Ten Hag has now confirmed that Ugarte is “available” for the match against Southampton.

“Manuel Ugarte, you will have seen he played for Uruguay, he returned this afternoon [Thursday], he was the only player who returned today, the rest yesterday, so he is available for this game,” he said, as per the Manchester Evening News.

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Ugarte’s move to Man Utd welcomed

United have already experienced midfield issues in the early stages of the 2024-25 season, with Casemiro facing mounting criticism over his performances so far.

Ten Hag had been left short of holding midfielders in the summer after United declined the chance to sign Sofyan Amrabat after his loan spell ended.

United legend Nicky Butt recently admitted that Ugarte is the type of player that the Red Devils needed and he thinks that the ex-PSG star will “shore up that midfield.”

“I’ve seen a bit of him last year and I think he’s what we need,” he told Manchester United’s official website.

“He’s got legs and he’s aggressive. Hopefully, he’ll shore up that midfield.

“The one thing it is lacking, and it has got a lot of talent in there going forward, is we can be a little open when teams are on the counter-attack against us. So, hopefully, he’ll make the difference.”