Manuel Ugarte was Erik ten Hag's third-choice midfield signing for Manchester United

Manuel Ugarte was not former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag's preferred choice to bolster their midfield.

Ugarte, 23, joined United from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day for a fee rising to £50.75million but only one of his four starts under Ten Hag came in the Premier League. He was named man of the match in the 1-1 Europa League draw with Fenerbahce last week but was dropped for Casemiro in the 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Sunday.

The Uruguay midfielder started on the bench in four of Ten Hag's final five fixtures in charge after he struggled in the 3-0 home humbling by Tottenham on September 29.

Ten Hag wanted to sign Sofyan Amrabat on a permanent basis or recruit Sander Berge from relegated Burnley. United had an option to buy Amrabat for an initial €25m, having paid Fiorentina €10m to loan the Moroccan for the entirety of last season.

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Despite the noise surrounding Berge, United sporting director Dan Ashworth was confident of concluding a deal for Ugarte two weeks before the August 30 deadline. Berge moved to Fulham for £25m.

United sources stressed at the time of Ugarte's arrival that Ten Hag and the football leadership team were aligned on his signing. Agency sources familiar with the deal's development say Ugarte was more of a club signing.

Ten Hag agreed last week Ugarte produced his best performance for United at Fenerbahce but the coaching staff was still integrating him. “For sure, the six position is a key position in your team, and he has to learn this position in our game model.

“I think today is a step forward, so really pleased with his performance, and from here on he has to build on.

"We have Casemiro. He's doing lately also, again, very good. We have people there who can fill in that role. We have Kobbie and I think Christian Eriksen is doing brilliant in this moment.

“You have to integrate them. He came late in the window and then we had to integrate him during the competitions and that takes time.

“We have to stay patient but, as you see, if the quality in that position is not right it's very difficult for a team to control games, and then I don't even speak about dominating games.

“So, that position needs one who brings the quality all the time, and we have to integrate him now in this team. As I said, I'm pleased with his performance today and from here on he can build up."

Ugarte and Leny Yoro were United's most expensive additions in the summer and had no ties with Dutch football. Ten Hag favoured Dutch-schooled signings and Netherlands-born duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui played under him at Ajax while Joshua Zirkzee is a Netherlands international.

Ugarte is set to benefit from the expected appointment of Ruben Amorim as the new United manager. Amorim coached Ugarte for two years at Sporting before he moved to PSG in 2023.

Portuguese sources believe Ten Hag's system was not conducive to Ugarte's strengths and he should be more effective in the 3-4-3 formation that Amorim favours.