Lisandro Martinez reveals fitting nickname for Manuel Ugarte after making Man United debut

Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has nicknamed Manuel Ugarte 'The octopus' after the Uruguayan international made his debut for the club in Saturday's 3-0 win at Southampton.

After being included in the matchday squad for the first time since joining the club from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day, he was introduced as a second half substitute, replacing Christian Eriksen with 73 minutes played.

A lot of United supporters, ahead of kick-off, had been campaigning for him to be thrown straight into the starting XI amid United's midfield troubles against Liverpool prior to the international break.

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However, Ugarte had represented Uruguay twice during the recent pause and only returned to Carrington as recently as Thursday, less than 48 hours after starting Uruguay's 0-0 draw against Venezuela.

Although Casemiro lost his place in the starting line up, few anticipated it would be Eriksen who would claim his place. It was the Dane's first start of the season.

Ugarte, once he is up to speed, is expected to form a third of United's first-choice midfield alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes. He will be tasked with providing the defensive nous and solidity United have been lacking in the middle third of the pitch.

Although his debut only amounted to 17 minutes on the south coast, he offered flashes of what he will add to Erik ten Hag's team, winning two tackles and completing each of the 13 passes he attempted, meaning he walked off the pitch at full-time boasting a 100 per cent passing accuracy.

Renowned for bossing proceedings in midfield and being