Ball-winning machine Manuel Ugarte could prove to be Kobbie Mainoo's perfect midfield partner at Man Utd – just don't ask him to do too much attacking!

Manchester United had more problems than Jay-Z last season, but midfield was undoubtedly their biggest one. Casemiro had a turbulent campaign marked by injury problems, Sofyan Amrabat could not adapt to the frenetic pace of the Premier League, while Mason Mount missed almost the whole season due to injuries.

As a result, Bruno Fernandes was forced to take on everyone else's work, which blunted his usual attacking edge. These problems were eased somewhat by the rise of Kobbie Mainoo, but the teenager's remarkable emergence did not fix a chronic lack of energy and dynamism in the middle.

Early on in the summer, United identified their ideal solution to this problem and set about trying to sign Manuel Ugarte. And after nearly three months of negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain, they finally look to have got a deal over the line.

Ugarte was still in high school when he made his professional debut in Uruguay, but he quickly grew into a man, and a combative one at that. The midfielder relishes going after the ball and last season he made the second-highest amount of tackles in Europe's top five leagues, only trailing Joao Palhinha, a former team-mate.

The 23-year-old also has energy to burn. His former coach Juan Ramon Carrasco said Ugarte has "seven lungs" and "owns one half of the pitch". It is little wonder, then, that Erik ten Hag believes Ugarte can transform United's midfield.

United once had the best tough-tackling midfielder in the world in Roy Keane, but their attempts to replace him have only ever worked in the short-term. Owen Hargreaves had some success in his debut campaign, but his career was soon after destroyed by injuries; Nemanja Matic greatly strengthened Jose Mourinho's midfield, but he was already 29 by the time he arrived and his powers soon faded; Casemiro also looked to be an excellent short-term signing in 2022, but his error-strewn second campaign showed his limitations.

Ugarte, however, has his best years ahead of him. He might have had his confidence knocked by his short and unsuccessful spell at PSG, but if United play to his strengths, they can look forward to an exciting future, with the Uruguayan shutting down opposition attacks while Mainoo and Fernandes focus on supplying the front line.