Dutch football legend Marco van Basten has slammed Manchester United’s headline summer signing Manuel Ugarte and cannot understand Erik ten Hag’s decision to buy him.
The Uruguay international joined the Red Devils in the summer following a drawn out transfer saga which ultimately culminated in the 23-year-old arriving at Old Trafford on deadline day in a £42 million deal.
Ugarte has spent just a solitary season at Paris Saint-Germain having earned a reputation as a tough tackling enforcer during his time at Sporting Lisbon.
Having been forced to bide his time to make his debut, Ugarte belatedly made his first Premier League start in Sunday’s dismal 3-0 defeat against Spurs and looked well off the pace.
Ugarte was criticised for sluggish display during which he was booked and at fault for Spurs’ opening goal when centre-half Micky van de Ven was allowed to run unchallenged for around 70 yards before crossing the ball to an unmarked Brennan Johnson who tapped home from close range.
A miserable afternoon came to an end when he was substituted midway through the second period and a watching Van Basten was left struggling to comprehend the thought process behind recruiting a player who already looks ill-suited to the demands of English football.
‘I saw a new player walking around at Manchester United, Ugarte, for €50M! he said. ‘How is this guy walking around there?
‘It’s idiotic how much he [Ten Hag] has decided to invest in players who are not even good!’
Ugarte was far from the only United player to be singled out by Van Basten for criticism with the former Milan striker offering a brutal take on the performances of Casemiro and Marcus Rashford.
He added: ‘Name me one top player at Manchester United? At every top club you see a top player. Rashford is very bad. Bruno Fernandes is a good player, Onana is a good goalkeeper.
‘That’s it. Casemiro is done. Garnacho is a decent player. But nobody carries that team!’
Ten Hag, meanwhile, has just two games to save his job little more than two months after United’s new backroom team decided to place their faith in him having tapped up potential replacements in the summer.
United travel to Porto on Thursday having started their Europa League campaign with a disappointing draw at home against FC Twente, before a daunting trip to Villa Park against a side who again look to have genuine top four credentials.
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