Manuel Ugarte will solve ex-Manchester United coach’s bizarre problem with Kobbie Mainoo

Manchester United’s pending transfer of Manuel Ugarte from Paris St. Germain will ease bizarre concerns from a former Old Trafford coach.

Manchester United are set to sign Manuel Ugarte in an initial £42 million deal from Ligue 1 side Paris St. Germain, with a further £8.4 million in performance-related add-ons.

Ugarte joins as Erik ten Hag’s fifth recruit of the summer following the signings of Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui.

Read More: Manchester United ‘reject’ £50 million player as late transfer talks break down

Many fans are excited about the prospect of Ugarte joining the Old Trafford midfield, with United sometimes showing a lack of intensity in the middle of the park.

However, former club coach Rene Meulensteen, who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson, recently suggested that Kobbie Mainoo is too inexperienced to execute the demands of playing in the middle of the park, which creates gaps.

Meulensteen explained that this was part of the reason he feels United currently look slow and lethargic in midfield, and Ten Hag has been carrying that frustration with him at United.

“I can see the frustration that Erik ten Hag carries with him as manager at Manchester United; when he closes his eyes, he must be asking why this United team can’t play like his Ajax team,” he told BoyleSports, who offer the latest Premier League betting.

“I know him from his time at Ajax, and the two teams are light and day. He says that he hasn’t got the players for it to play that style, but I think they are far too passive defensively rather than being on the front foot.

“They need to play with a high line and press the opposition, force them into mistakes and create quick turnovers. United have plenty of players who can hurt opposition, but the team are dropping too deep and leaving too much distance between the back line and the forwards.

“You then have players like Casemiro who can’t cover those distances. You have Kobbie Mainoo, but he is still inexperienced and can’t quite read the game yet, which means that these gaps then appear.

“When you look at the goals that United have been conceding, they don’t keep the ball well enough in possession and also, players don’t understand the key purpose of possession; it’s slow and laboured, and they’re never going anywhere.

“Possession always has to have a purpose of overloading to one side or breaking lines and trying to get in behind the back four and open the opposition up. That is what we always tried to do under Sir Alex. 

“I miss that style of play, if you look at a lot of the stats now you see opposition teams having more possession than United at Old Trafford, that has changed. Those two things need to change, which would make a massive difference; if United got those right, they would be getting close to the level they used to be.

“If there are 20 minutes on the clock and it’s still 0-0, our mantra was going in for the kill early and getting that goal, don’t give them any time to breathe or get confidence with easy possession.

“Too often now, teams come to Old Trafford and have confidence that they can get something.”

Whether fans agree or disagree with Meulensteen’s slightly bizarre claim, Ugarte is the type of player who will help fill the holes he sees in United’s current team.

The club expect Ugarte to conclude their summer spending but are still open to offers for several players, such as Jadon Sancho, Victor Lindelöf, and Christian Eriksen.

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