Man United star labelled ‘wet blanket’ in brutal assessment of Dan Ashworth transfer

Dan Ashworth’s only transfer window at Manchester United seen the club spend £212million and Manuel Ugarte’s last switch from Paris Saint-Germain is yet to live up to expectations

Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte has been dubbed a ‘damp squib’ by former Chelsea and Celtic ace Craig Burley, who has cast doubt on the Uruguayan international’s suitability for Old Trafford.

The ex-Paris Saint-Germain player joined the Red Devils a year ago in a deal potentially worth £50.5 million, but he’s yet to make his mark despite being at the club for over a season. Only Leny Yoro commanded a higher fee than Ugarte during Dan Ashworth’s summer stint overseeing United’s transfers, with the former sporting director stating: “Signing Manuel was another of our primary targets for this summer.

“He is among the very best ball-winning midfield players in the world and has an excellent record at both club and international level. His qualities, experience and passion will be a great complement to our strong group of midfielders.”

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However, the 24 year old, who previously thrived under Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP, has so far struggled to justify a starting place at the Theatre of Dreams, reports the Manchester Evening News. Ugarte finds himself low in the pecking order, having clocked up just 46 minutes across three Premier League matches in the 2025/26 season, with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes often chosen ahead of him in the heart of the pitch.

Burley has been far from impressed with what he’s seen. The former Scotland international didn’t hold back on ESPN, stating: “Manuel Ugarte is just absolutely nothing. He’s just like a wet blanket. Put him in with the kids and even the kids would be going, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ Seriously.”

The 53 year old pundit also had strong views on United’s goalkeeping situation. Burley doesn’t think Altay Bayindir can continue between the sticks, especially with Andre Onana’s expected departure, and believes Senne Lammens could face a tough introduction to the Premier League.

“He looked the real deal when he was in Italy,” Burley said of Onana. “I thought he was going to come in and have a Schmeichel-esque aura about him. Remember he was bossing about Harry Maguire and he had a go at him.

“If this young lad from Belgium comes in and is flapping about all over the place, it’s going to be a mess isn’t it? Altay Bayindir, they can’t play him. He might be okay at shotstopping but he’s absolutely useless at balls into the box.

“The lad who has come in [Lammens] needs to be able to communicate, marshal a back four, be good with the ball at his feet, make saves and he needs to have authority and make a statement when teams are rattling the ball into the box. That is what every team will do now, they’re going to pile it on into this goalkeeper.

“He’s going to sink or swim. They went halfway down the road to Martinez at Villa and I think that would have been the perfect scenario because he’s got arrogance. But they’ve gone the other route again and we’ve no idea how the young lad is going to handle the scenario.”

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