Manuel Ugarte will never forget his first day at Old Trafford. It began with Manchester United's new £50m midfielder nearly getting soaked by the sprinklers on the pitch as he was introduced to the crowd before the Liverpool game and ended with manager Erik ten Hag warning him that it will take time to get the best out of Ugarte because: “I'm not Harry Potter.”
Between his pre-match escape from the sprinkler and Ten Hag's comments after the match, Ugarte saw his new team dismantled in a 3-0 defeat against United's biggest rivals, with the player he was signed to replace, Casemiro, substituted at half-time because he was simply incapable of performing the role he used to fill so majestically for Real Madrid.
As a first impression, Ugarte had just witnessed the football version of a horror movie.
Ugarte's transfer from Paris Saint-Germain was completed on Friday night, meaning United were unable to register him in time to face Liverpool, so the 23-year-old's debut is likely to come against Southampton on September 14, provided he returns unscathed from Uruguay's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Venezuela during the international break.
But already, without having even kicked a ball for United, Ugarte is under enormous pressure to be the solution to a problem that has been a constant under Ten Hag: the team's inability to control games from midfield.
In reality, this is a problem that predates Ten Hag's time at the club. It was perhaps most noticeable and damaging during Ten Hag's two full seasons at Old Trafford due to the cavalier nature of the former Ajax manager's tactical approach, but United have neglected the defensive midfield area since long before Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013.
The hope now is that, in Ugarte, the club has finally signed the player it has lacked for more than a decade. The problem is that he could be expected to perform an impossible task. He will undoubtedly bring youthful energy, athleticism, tenacity, ball-winning ability and defensive awareness to Ten Hag's side, with the expectation that he will be the bolt on the door that neither Casemiro nor Kobbie Mainoo are prepared to provide.
For a start, Ten Hag hopes Ugarte's presence will prevent opponents from dominating the central third of the pitch as Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch did on Sunday. Ugarte and Mainoo are the obvious defensive linchpin for the attack. Mainoo, 19, is an exceptional talent but struggles towards the end of games for United because he has to cover too much ground to compensate for Casemiro's lack of mobility.
With England at Euro 2024, Mainoo has proven far more effective with the protection offered by midfield partner Declan Rice; Ugarte should be able to fill the same role and give Ten Hag the perfect combination at the base of his midfield.
When they beat Manchester City in last season's FA Cup final, Ten Hag deployed Sofyan Amrabat alongside Mainoo in midfield, with Scott McTominay providing extra presence and energy. Amrabat and McTominay are no longer at United, so Casemiro was chosen to face Liverpool.
Casemiro, 32, was once one of the world's best defensive midfielders and helped Real Madrid win five Champions League titles during his time alongside Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in the club's stellar midfield. But time has not been a friend to the Brazil international and United's decision to sign him two years ago for £70m looks increasingly naive.
However, Casemiro was just the latest in a long line of midfield signing mistakes that have left United so desperate for Ugarte to succeed. The last time United signed a world-class defensive midfielder at the peak of his career was when they signed 26-year-old Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich in 2007. The English midfielder helped United to UEFA Champions League glory a year later, but injuries cut his club career short prematurely and United have lurched from one mistake to another in that position ever since.
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Nicolò: “Manchester United's problems are much deeper than Casemiro's”
Steve Nicol says Casemiro cannot take all the blame for Manchester United's 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (31 when he signed), Nemanja Matic (29) and Casemiro (30) were all past their prime when signed by United, while Fred, Morgan Schneiderlin and Ander Herrera never had the quality to play a defensive midfield role at a club of United’s stature. Repeated failure to make the right signings (Manchester City had a huge success signing Fernandinho and then Rodri while United faltered) even led to players like Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek being used in defensive midfield and none of them were well suited to that role.
So a player with Ugarte's abilities was about time United came for him, but he alone will be able to solve the defensive midfield problem.
Ten Hag will still have to address Lisandro Martinez's defensive recklessness, which has created problems for United's midfielders, and captain Bruno Fernandes must learn to stop exposing his deep-lying teammates by leaving large spaces when advancing and then showing less enthusiasm when dropping back.
Despite Ten Hag's suggestion, it doesn't take Harry Potter magic to make some obvious adjustments to his squad to ensure it performs as it should. The signing of Ugarte is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but never has a defensive midfielder arrived at a new club with such high expectations as a result of the shortcomings of those he has been signed to replace.
