Manuel Ugarte, the modern day Midfielder
Why he should be our priority signing this summer
(Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)
The Who
Manuel Ugarte Ribeiro
Age: 21
Nationality: Uruguay
Preferred foot: Right
Height: 6’ ft
Position: Defensive midfielder but plays as a Hybrid 6 / 8
Academy: Centro Atlético Fénix (Montevideo, Uruguay)
The What
Manuel Ugarte began his career as a forward for Uruguayan club CA Fénix where he got his debut at age 15. Eventually he was converted into a box to box midfielder and by age 18 was already playing for Uruguay U20s.
Portuguese club Famalicão saw the potential, signed him for 3M€ and under manager Ivo Vieria was used in multiple positions in midfield. In Summer 2021 Sporting CP signed him for 6.5M€, initially as a back up for Palhinha but became a starter after Palhinha got injured.
It is reported his buyout clause is 60M€. What this means is that if a team wants him they would have to pay that in one shot and it will all count towards FFP calculations as a whole amount. Teams that are in danger of FFP breaches will have to negotiate with Sporting CP to overpay & amortize or a club that has not spent a lot in the last few seasons and has space will be able to take on this amount as a whole. In either case, a good relationship with Jorge Mendes would be key as his agency Gestifute represents Manuel.
The Why
Manuel Ugarte’s profile is exactly what our midfield needs in terms of tough defensive midfielder who can anchor the back while playing Jurgen Klopps high line system of play.
He is the modern day midfielder who not only excels defending but also in pushing the ball up the pitch (keep in mind his origins as a forward & box to box midfielder
Strengths: Tackling, Physicality, Ball winning mentality, dribbling, pin point passing, can play multiple positions in midfield, plays well under pressure
Weakness: mistimed physicality leading to a lot of fouls and yellow cards. So far this season he has accumulated 14 yellow cards and 1 red card in 33 matches and counting. This will improve as he develops his positional intelligence over time.
The Data
(data is upto date as per the date of this article)
Ugarte is defensively in (fbref data):
Tackles: 99% percentile
Interceptions: 98% percentile
Blocks: 96% percentile
Ugarte’s Pass completion rate ability is in 91.3% percentile (fbref data)
Ugarte has 87% pass accuracy in opposition half (in Portuguese liga as per sofascore data)
Ugarte’s successful take-ons is in 94% percentile (fbref data). Successful take-ons is defined as number of defenders taken on successfully by dribbling past them.
His heat map for Portuguese liga shows he has played almost the same amount of time in defensive midfield areas and attacking midfield. Its a mirror image.
The View
If you are able to re-watch a match, I recommend the Sporting CP vs Benfica match from Jan 15. You can see highlights of it below. (Comp credit to UruguaySport)
Final Thoughts:
I have highlighted Manuel Ugarte over the season as a midfielder to keep an eye on and his solid performances game after gamer warrants it. Fabinho will be 30 this year and not one for the future. Stefan Bajčetić at 18 also needs time to develop into his role. Over reliance early can lead to injuries as we now see with his season ending injury. Club needs to have vision & sign a high potential 21 year old like Manuel Ugarte at a “reasonable” price tag given the state of transfer figures these days. His attributes are exactly what LFC need to anchor the midfield. LFC’s relationship with Jorge Mendes is solid given signings of Fabinho, Jota and Darwin Nunez just last summer. Ugarte will be one of the signings of the summer for a club and they will be getting one of the best young modern day midfielders in football.
Man City Treble hahahahahaha