ESPN pundit stunned Man Utd signed player who wasn’t good enough for his old club, says his position is ‘horrible’

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Manchester United have endured an up-and-down season so far with their summer signings yet to really settle in.

Although Erik ten Hag was in charge for the summer transfer window, United’s owners brought in several players costing over £200 million in total.

Although the Red Devils’ business was praised at the time, concerns are now being raised following an abysmal first half of the season which sees the side sit 12th in the table.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
11	BrentfordBrentford	21	8	4	9	40	37	3	28
12	Man UtdManchester United	21	7	5	9	26	29	-3	26
13	West HamWest Ham	21	7	5	9	27	41	-14	26

And for one signing in particular, questions are being asked about his former club’s decision to let him go.

ESPN pundit thinks Man United shouldn’t have signed Manuel Ugarte

United signed Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth up to £50 million. The midfielder penned a five-year contract with an option for a further year.

Despite being signed by Ten Hag and now playing under Ruben Amorim, the Uruguayan has been a regular, starting in 10 Premier League games already.

With performances continuing to disappoint, proven by United’s embarrassing display against Southampton on Thursday, ESPN’s Steve Nicol has questioned just how good Ugarte really is.

“What teams do any of these players get in? The middle of the park for Manchester United is horrible,” he said.

“PSG are trying to go that way [up], so why are they getting rid of Ugarte if he’s that good?”

Have a listen to Nicol’s rant — we’ve time-stamped it for you!

A scathing, and perhaps too reactionary, assessment from Nicol, I think you’ll agree.

It’s fair to say United’s midfield still has a lot of improving to do, but Ugarte not being good enough for Paris Saint-Germain feels wide of the mark.

Kobbie Mainoo criticism fairer

Although Ugarte wasn’t the only United midfielder picked out for criticism, Nicol questioning the South American’s inclusion more than Kobbie Mainoo’s seems unfair.

Mainoo enjoyed a meteoric rise last season — probably too much so — he is now struggling to live up to the high standards he previously set himself.

He’s still young so has a lot of developing and learning to do — and although there are rumours surrounding his future, I am sure he’ll commit to United and continue on an upward trajectory.

However, for now, surely if Amorim had another youthful and mobile central midfielder at his disposal instead of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro to pick from, it would be Mainoo he would drop to the bench and not Ugarte.