Although former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag brought him to Old Trafford, new manager Ruben Amorim is expected to unleash Ugarte’s full potential.

The midfielder thrived with Amorim at Sporting CP from 2021 to 2023. In fact, during the 2022-23 season, Ugarte was in the top one percent in six different metrics among midfielders across Europe.

Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has expressed his confidence in the midfielder’s potential and has shown his support for one of Erik ten Hag’s latest signings.

“You have to be careful with the initial conclusions about Manuel Ugarte, he is a great signing.” Van Nistelrooy said. “Manu is a very good player. “He has very specific qualities in midfield, getting between players to recover balls and put us in attacking positions.”

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Ugarte spoke about the Portuguese coach and highlighted what he will contribute to the Manchester United squad, which has had problems to start this 2024-25 season.

“I saw that the Sporting fans were upset and that shows because Amorim is a great coach,” Ugarte said (h/t AS Diary). “It’s good for United, we have to take advantage of it and let him express his ideas as quickly as possible. I think it will be a different dynamic.

“The day to day life will be similar to that of Sporting. Changing leagues, countries, football… It is a great challenge for him but we all know that he has the capacity. My colleagues ask me a lot about him. What surprised them was his age. He also really wants to win and that is very important. I say you will like it.”