Manuel Ugarte hits back against perceived flaw in his game in first interview as Man Utd player

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Manuel Ugarte is expected to become a fan favourite at Manchester United quickly due to his style of play where he wears his heart on his sleeve.

The Uruguayan is a ball-winning machine who is expected to slot in at the base of midfield and provide some much-needed protection.

• READ: Who is Manuel Ugarte? Everything you need to know on Uruguay midfielder

The need for that protection was laid bare in the 0-3 defeat vs Liverpool and in Ugarte, United might have the next version of “Tell them I’ll fix this”, a famous quote sent by Casemiro before he arrived at United.

However, in his very first interview as a Manchester United player, Manuel Ugarte is already hitting back at critics who think he is a limited player.

Manuel Ugarte sets the record straight

Ugarte’s prominence in world football has been on the back of being a manic tackler and ball-winner, with his quote “Football is a game when we have the ball and a fight when we don’t” guaranteed to become an anthem among the Old Trafford faithful.

Manuel Ugarte’s style of play is perfectly suited to a ball progressor like Kobbie Mainoo who can receive the ball which Ugarte wins back and set the attack in motion.

However, Ugarte has become a victim of his own expertise as it is now widely accepted that winning the ball back is all he’s good for.

His qualities on the ball have been dissected endlessly, with judgment announced by many that he’s effectively a liability in possession.

In his very first interview with the club media, Ugarte has set the record straight on this narrative.

He said: “I like to think that I’m pretty much an all-round player in the sense that I feel that I’m decent at winning the ball back but I can also be very good in possession too.

“Of course, there are things I can improve upon, but what better place is there to be doing that than here?”

Ugarte’s role at Man United

If the first three games are any indication, then Ugarte better be good at playing with the ball too because Casemiro, the man he’s effectively replacing, has been doing an awful lot of heavy lifting in that department.

Of course, that’s not ideal, and the hope is that Ten Hag simplifies the players’ roles a little because the current way is just not sustainable.

Therefore, anyone expecting Ugarte to slot in at the base of the midfield and fix any and all problems with the team needs to put a check on their expectations.

The team will undoubtedly look a lot better with Ugarte in it than Casemiro, purely on the basis of having more in his legs playing in a team that demands a lot from him.

However, he is only a part of the solution, just as Casemiro is only a part of the problem. Ten Hag has already been managing expectations for himself, saying he’s not “Harry Potter” and Ugarte will take time to get up to speed.

The player, meanwhile, has declared himself ready. Ten Hag can quicken the process with a better system in place that solves tactical issues that no player can fix.