Michael Carrick has a surprising opinion of Manuel Ugarte

Manchester United spent a whopping 60 million euros on Manuel Ugarte in the summer 2024 transfer window after he shone for both Benfica and PSG, but he has been such a disaster at Old Trafford that fans view him as the club’s worst player.

Even new manager Michael Carrick, a former deep-lying Man United midfielder himself, has stopped starting Ugarte at all, but his public comments on the Uruguayan man seem to stand in stark contrast to that.

Ahead of Sunday’s big home game against Crystal Palace, Carrick spoke extensively about Ugarte at the press conference and gave the 24-year-old a great deal of praise.

Carrick said, “I like Manu a lot. He’s been terrific around the group. I’m hugely impressed with his attitude and how he goes about it and his training qualities. He’s got a lot of really good attributes.  When the team is winning there’s obviously a big upside to that and there’s always for the one or two boys that maybe haven’t played so much it makes it a little bit tougher to get in the team. But I think that creates competition as well in a real healthy way. Manu is obviously desperate to get on the pitch more and he’s doing everything he can in training and he’s a big part of the group. It’s just a case of the boys playing so well.  There’s going to be times when we might need to change things and freshen things up and then certainly he’s a big part of that.”

Perhaps Carrick phasing Ugarte out is more about retooling the former star man back into his former star self, aiding the Uruguayan international in recovering his best form and mentality.

If Carrick can get Ugarte to play like he did before arriving at Old Trafford, then that should honestly seal the Englishman’s fate as the permanent Manchester United coach going forward.