Michael Carrick has been handed a challenge by Rio Ferdinand, who has identified a big-money underperformer.
With Michael Carrick returning to Manchester United as interim manager, a slight feel-good factor has arrived at the same time.
However, there is no time for United legend to ease into his role as United boss, with the start of his reign being a baptism of fire.
His first game will be the Manchester derby against a City side who are undefeated in 13 games and fired up as they try to stay in the title race. Then Carrick will be up against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side at the Emirates as they sit at the summit of the Premier League.
Not only does Carrick have to tactically outsmart the two best managers in the league, but he also has to galvanise a group of underperforming players to play.
Ferdinand wants Ugarte to step up
Since arriving at Old Trafford from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024, Manuel Ugarte has yet to light up the league with his performances.
Despite being known for being a nuisance for the opposition with his tackling, tenacity and ability to cover ground, he has only shown flashes of this.
Even under Ruben Amorim, the manager he made his name under at Sporting CP, he failed to impress and nail down a consistent starting spot.
Rio Ferdinand has recently come out and urged the Uruguayan to show more and stamp his authority on games.
Speaking on his show Rio Ferdinand Presents, he said: “I’ve got to be honest, I have been disappointed with Ugarte. He is one player when he came in everybody said he’s got legs, he can tackle, he can move. The description I was getting was he was the right type of player we needed.
“It just hasn’t materialised, it hasn’t come to the fore. I haven’t seen the player that everybody was talking about before in terms of being able to get up against people quickly and tackle.
“That’s meant to be a big part of his game, being aggressive.‘He hasn’t put a marker down in a game that’s made me think this guy could be one of our midfield dogs or controllers who is really going to get things going in the midfield” He hasn’t got anywhere near that.”
With Carrick being one of the greatest defensive midfielders of his generation, Ferdinand has posed a challenge to his former teammate to see if he can get more out of Ugarte.
“Can Michael Carrick get any more out of him? That is going to be a big challenge for Michael Carrick: Can he get any more out of these players as individuals to make the team better?
“He’s got to get both of those bits better, the team better, and the individual players playing to a high level and get so much more out of them.”
Last lifeline for Ugarte
Including interims like Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Darren Fletcher, Carrick will be the fifth manager Ugarte has played under.
Especially in the case of permanent managers Erik Ten Hag and Amorim, the Uruguayan has so far shown he lacks the level to play in the Premier League, despite on paper possessing the best traits to do so.
It seemed like Ugarte was heading for a January exit with the likes of Galatasaray and Ajax linked with moves for the midfielder as he was falling in the pecking order at the club.
However, with the arrival of Carrick, he has been given one last lifeline to impress once again and cement his place in the team. There are not many better players to learn from than Carrick, so if Ugarte improve he gives himself the best chance of impressing whoever takes the job permanently in the summer.
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