There was a lot of optimism when Manchester United officially confirmed last year that Reuben Amorim would become their new head coach to replace Eric Ten Hag.
The Portuguese head coach has just won a league title in the sport and has arrived at Old Trafford as an exciting young manager with a new system to help fans get used to.
His arrival also encouraged supporters to wonder whether they would try to reunite with prolific center forward Viktor Gyoker to strengthen the club’s options at the top of the pitch.
Manchester United reportedly reached out to sports over potential deals to sign Sweden’s advance earlier this summer.
The Red Devils were unable to reunite Amorim with Gyoker this summer, but the Portuguese head coach has already had the opportunity to work with one of his former sports stars at Manuel Ugarte.
United signed Uruguay International from Paris Saint-Germain for an initial fee of £42 million last summer before Amorim arrived, but he has yet to prove his worth.
Why Man United might need to replace Manuel Ugarte
The Red Devils have not proven to be a reliable option in the middle of the park, so you may need to find an alternative to Ugarte before the end of the summer transfer window.
He is billed as a midfield destroyer that will be wiped out before defense. However, he only scored 53% of duels in the Premier League, dribbled 1.3 times over per division game. Only Bruno Fernandez (1.4) was dribbled with more dribbling per match on average.
This shows that Ugarte didn’t provide a very effective screen in front of defense on the top flight last season.
On top of that, the 24-year-old defensive midfielder doesn’t have any offensive or progressive threats to the ball, thus providing no quality to make up for when his defensive skills are inadequate in the middle of the park.
24/25 pl | Ugarte | Rank vs. Midfielder |
|---|---|---|
Non-penalty goals | 0.05 | Bottom 41% |
More than that | 0.06 | Lower 30% |
Shot creation action | 1.56 | Bottom 16% |
Progressive Pass | 3.08 | Lower 18% |
Progressive Carry | 0.81 | Bottom 23% |
Move to the last third | 2.96 | Bottom 36% |
Move to the penalty area | 0.45 | Bottom 20% |
Statistics via FBREF | ||
As you can see in the table above, Ugarte was one of the worst performers in the mid-range Premier League when it comes to playing ongoing passes or carry, or creating goals to score.
These statistics suggest that the former sportster is not a reliable operator of Amorim.
However, United managed to find a major upgrade at Ugarte.
Man Utd discussing with Midfield Star agents
Manchester United are in ongoing consultations with agents of Brighton & Hove Albion defensive midfielder Carlos Valleva, according to Fabrizio Romano.
However, he adds that the transaction is complicated and there is no progress at this time.
Speaking about his YouTube channel, the reporter said: “Man United still maintains contacts with Carlos Valleva’s agents, but the contacts are still ongoing, but at this point they still believe the deal is really complicated and really difficult.
“People who are united at this time started this week by approaching people nearby the players, understanding the situation and trying to maintain contact with the players agents.
GivemeSport adds that Brighton is looking for fees in the £115 million area that he raked from Chelsea for Moises Caseco to let go of Baleva.
This suggests Manchester United may need to break their transfer records by spending more than £100 million.
Why should Man utd sign Carlos Valleva?
The Red Devils will arrive as a massive upgrade to Ugarte, so if they can avoid the huge fees that could be involved, they will have to push to win deals over the Baleva line.
He is already a proven Premier League performer and thanks to his time at Brighton, he will provide more for his team in the middle of the park, both as a defender and a progressive operator.
Baleba scored 55% of the duels, dribbling only 0.9 times per game on the top flight last season. This quickly suggests that the left-footed enforcer is more reliable from the ball compared to Ugarte, as it will be difficult for opposition players to make him better.
The clip above also shows that Brighton Star is merely a defensive qualities in his arsenal. He scored three goals and created three “big chances” on the top flight, but offered progressive plays in the build-up.
24/25 Premier League (per 90 people) | Carlos Valleva | Manuel Ugarte |
|---|---|---|
Non-penalty goals | 0.10 | 0.05 |
Shot creation action | 2.23 | 1.56 |
Progressive Pass | 3.99 | 3.08 |
Progressive Carry | 1.45 | 0.81 |
Key Pass | 0.71 | 0.50 |
Move to the last third | 3.69 | 2.97 |
Move to the penalty area | 0.78 | 0.45 |
Statistics via FBREF | ||
As you can see in the table above, Manchester United outperformed Ugarte with many offensive and ownership-based indicators in the middle of the Premier League park.
These statistics suggest that Baleva, who was praised as “exceptional” by U23 Scout Antonio Mango, will come in as a major upgrade to United Flop as it is out of his ability to influence the games he owns.
It also aligns with the possibility of upgrading him from a defensive standpoint, given that it will be difficult for attacking players to dribble or win duels against the 21-year-old Titan.
So signing Baleva will improve Manchester United’s team. Because he offers more at every stage of the game than at present as a proven Premier League performer than at present.
