Is Manuel Ugarte an engine room upgrade on Casemiro for Man Utd? £42m ‘personality’ question answered as Red Devils ready big-money midfielder for first Premier League start

The Red Devils have spent big bringing in another holding midfielder, as questions continue to be asked of former Real Madrid star Casemiro. Erik ten Hag appears to have a ready-made replacement on his hands, with Ugarte yet to reach his peak at 23 years of age.

United have resisted the urge to throw Ugarte in at the Premier League deep end, with a substitute appearance against Southampton being followed by a first start as Barnsley were trounced 7-0 in the Carabao Cup.

Quizzed on whether Ugarte is the engine room upgrade that United are after, fellow countryman and ex-Premier League star Gus Poyet – speaking in association with William Hill – told GOAL: “I was expecting Ugarte to come to England last year. There were rumours about Chelsea and I thought it wad the right time. After that, one year at Paris Saint-Germain. It’s a good move, a very good move, but he’s moving to a club that what’s going to happen, nobody knows.

“It was a big decision, a massive decision. When you go to a club, you see him play and you look at why he’s there and you think ‘okay, I like it and I know where we’re going’. I don’t think they are going to wait too long for him, so it’s going to have to happen straight away. Does he have the personality? Yes. And the qualities? Yes.”

There is no ignoring the hefty price tag that Ugarte has around his neck, and that will lead to immediate demands for positive performances. Asked if the South American needs to settle quickly amid the many challenges that he will inevitably face, Poyet added: “For sure. It’s different football. Before coming to England, I thought I had the perfect physical strengths to play in England. In the first two months I was struggling to hold anyone in the corners because they were all stronger than me! You need to learn and improve. If not, you cannot play in England.

“That is a shock. Some players take no time, some take three months, some take a year and then they leave. It will depend a bit on the momentum of the team. Now, after the last two or three games, it’s a good time to make a full Premier League debut.”

United, with six points being collected from four Premier League games this season, will be back in action on Saturday when taking in a trip to Crystal Palace. Ten Hag may decide that is the right place and time to hand Ugarte his first start in the English top-flight.