Erik ten Hag can unleash a Manchester United midfield he has only used once before vs West Ham

After Manuel Ugarte had put pen to paper on a five-year deal at Old Trafford on deadline day, Manchester United were confident they had found the final piece to add to their midfield jigsaw.

United had been chasing Ugarte's tail all summer, spending several weeks locked in negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain before finally reaching an agreement to bring him to the Premier League as the window reached its closing stages.

Following Casemiro's sharp and unexpected decline, United knew they could not say farewell to the summer window having not recruited a new defensive-midfielder. It was considered as a mission they simply could not afford to fail.

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Ugarte arrived in M16 with a growing reputation for being one of the best defensive-minded midfielders in the business. Sporting director Dan Ashworth described him as being 'among the very best ball-winning midfield players in the world'.

Prior to Thursday night's 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce in Istanbul, United and their supporters had seen very little evidence of that. However, in Ugarte's defence, the midweek stalemate with Jose Mourinho's men marked just his fourth start in United colours.

Deployed next to Christian Eriksen, who scored United's only goal, and just behind Noussair Mazraoui in a midfield trio nobody could have possibly predicted, Ugarte produced his best showing for the club since arriving from the French capital.

He was key in instigating Eriksen's opener, winning possession back deep inside United's half and setting the attackers on their way. He also produced a goal-saving block to