Uruguayan media pick out ‘exceptional’ Manuel Ugarte moment in international draw

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Manuel Ugarte picked up some valuable minutes after starring in Uruguay’s World Cup qualifier clash against Venezuela.

The international break is coming to a close, and it has been an overall success for Manchester United with players avoiding injury while building up more match fitness.

The break came at a good time for the Red Devils after back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, and Erik ten Hag will like what he has seen from his players over the last week.

Joshua Zirkzee was impressive for the Netherlands in their 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina while Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot impressed for Portugal.

With a trip to Southampton on the horizon, all eyes turned to Manuel Ugarte after his £42m deadline day arrival at Carrington.

Ugarte was hailed as “great” by Marcelo Bielsa after starting vs Paraguay earlier this week and the 23-year-old retained his spot in the starting lineup for the 0-0 draw to Venezuela on Tuesday evening.

Manuel Ugarte’s ‘exceptional’ moment vs Venezuela

Manuel Ugarte was given a valuable 79 minutes against Paraguay and he added an extra 90 minutes to the tank during the goalless draw with Venezuela.

He was impressive in central midfield, especially defensively, and Ugarte’s performance against Venezuela sent a message to Ten Hag about how he should be used this season.

Uruguayan media have now given their verdict on Ugarte’s performance, and they picked out one “exceptional” moment from United’s deadline day signing.

El Observador gave Ugarte a 5/10 rating for his performance, adding “he had a hard time settling into the game in the first half hour of play.”

However, they also praised Ugarte’s “exceptional” pass to former United star Facundo Pellistri just before half-time after he “cleaned up a Venezuelan attack”.

Finally, they summarised Ugarte’s performance with one word that will have Ten Hag and fans drooling – “fighter”.

Is Manuel Ugarte ready to start for Man United?

Given that Ugarte’s performances for Uruguay this week were his first of the season, they were mightily impressive.

He is lacking match fitness and Ten Hag warned that it could be “months” until Ugarte got up to speed, but this week has inspired hope that he can play a key part sooner rather than later.

READ MORE: Manuel Ugarte to Man Utd gets seal of approval, Champions League winner says he is ‘what we need’

Ugarte may not be ready to make his debut against Southampton after playing twice for Uruguay this week. United are the early kick-off on Saturday and he still has to fly back to England. It could be a close call.

But Ugarte should be ready for the League Cup clash against Barnsley on Tuesday, 17th September. It should be an ideal match to make his debut before becoming a regular starter in the Premier League.