Manchester United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday to Grimsby Town and the game should be the last straw for one player.
Manchester United were outplayed by League Two outfit Grimsby Town for the majority of the game and found themselves 2-0 down.
It was no less than the hosts deserved, and they also found the back of the net another two times but the offside flag stopped them from blowing Ruben Amorim’s men away.
Bryan Mbeumo scored for United before Harry Maguire’s late equaliser sent the game to penalties.
After 12 penalties each, Mbeumo was the man who unfortunately missed his spot-kick and United were knocked out of the cup.
United must sell awful Ugarte
The biggest question marks after that game will be on Amorim, and deservedly so. He needs to find some solutions soon otherwise he will be sacked.
But there are some players who simply should not be playing for this club, and some of them have been recent signings in the last few years.
Manuel Ugarte was terrible last year, poor in pre-season, awful against Arsenal, uninspiring at Fulham and terrible again on Wednesday evening.
For almost £50 million, United have received a midfielder whose speciality is running around and pretending to be busy. Normally, he is either fouling or creating space for the opposition behind him. Luis Enrique probably laughed at the sale as he went onto create the best midfield in Europe.
He was hooked at half-time after he fell over in the build up to the opening goal. United supporters described him as ‘awful’ on the night.
Berrada’s promise about United underperformers
Signing Ugarte in 2024 was a clear mistake from INEOS, but no one was expecting recruitment to be perfect under them.
It’s almost impossible to have every signing become a success but the previous regime’s biggest problem was that these players ended up staying at the club for five or six years.
Moving players on quickly when they have failed to perform is crucial for United and Omar Berrada has already promised that it will happen.
Previous reports from Fabrizio Romano claimed that the United CEO has said that players have to perform or leave the club within one or two years.
It was claimed that players staying at Old Trafford for more than that despite poor performances will be deemed as “unacceptable” by the new board.
Rasmus Højlund seems like one of the first players to suffer to these new demands but Ugarte must become another. He is not good enough for a 15th-placed United, let alone if they want to improve. It might not be able to be this summer, but he shouldn’t be here by the start of the next campaign.
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