Man Utd's Manuel Ugarte sends warning over playing out of position - 'I lack certain things'
Manchester United splashed the cash to sign Manuel Ugarte from PSG in the summer transfer window - and the 23-year-old has suggested he isn't keen on playing in defence
by Felix Keith · The MirrorManchester United star Manuel Ugarte has suggested he should not be played out of position after enduring a difficult night on international duty with Uruguay.
Ugarte started as the middle centre-back as Marcelo Bielsa opted to field a back three against Peru on Saturday night. The World Cup qualifier did not go to plan, with Peru scoring in the 88th minute to claim a 1-0 win in Lima.
United shelled out £50million to sign the 23-year-old from Paris Saint-Germain as a holding midfielder in the summer transfer window. He has been eased into action by Erik ten Hag, starting just one Premier League match so far with the team struggling for consistency.
With fellow summer arrival Leny Yoro still unavailable and Harry Maguire injured, Ten Hag could be tempted to field Ugarte in defence. But the man himself does not sound keen on the idea after his second ever career start at centre-back did not go well.
“It was not a good match," Ugarte told ESPN. "We did not play well, it was a shame because I still believe that we are much better, but the match was ugly for us. The dressing room was strong before the match, the atmosphere was nice, but little by little we faded and we did not show good things in the match.
“Everyone can play and has the conditions to do so, but many times, when changing players it takes a little [time] to adapt. It is not an excuse either, the team's performance dropped. We need to go deeper, as we saw against Peru, we have to keep working.
"Honestly, I felt good with the ball, but I lack certain things as a defender. These are things that always enrich a player and we will see what happens on Tuesday."
It was Ugarte who failed to close down Peru’s Quispe, who crossed for Miguel Araujo to head in the winning goal on Saturday. Uruguay will hope for an improved performance when they take on Colombia on Tuesday, needing a result to stay in third, ahead of Brazil, in the South American qualifying group.
Ugarte’s statistics from the Peru game were actually promising. He recorded an 89 per cent passing accuracy, won six out of eight ground duels and three out of five aerial duels. He was also heavily involved in the team’s build-up from the back, having 93 touches of the ball.
In truth, Uruguay’s problems are chiefly at the other end of the pitch, where they managed an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.36 with Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez quiet.
“I honestly feel responsible," former Leeds boss Bielsa said. "Because the players we had in the midfield and in the offence, for such a small proportion of goal chances we created in the second half."
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