Manuel Ugarte has certainly not had the start to his Manchester United career that he would have dreamed of.

The Uruguayan has struggled to cement his place the team, starting just five matches since his arrival and only playing two minutes in the club’s past three Premier League matches.

And now, the coach who brought him to Old Trafford is gone.

However, it is unlikely that you will find someone at the club who is more excited about the prospect of working with Ruben Amorim than Ugarte.

Amorim and Sporting showed huge faith in Ugarte when they paid a club-record fee to bring him to Lisbon in 2021. At the time, he had played just 20 matches in European football for fellow Portuguese side Famalicao.

Ugarte played for Amorim for two seasons, initially as an understudy to Joao Palhinha. It was when Palhinha departed for Fulham in 2022 that Ugarte started to attract the attention of Europe’s elite.

Ugarte was one of the most dominant midfielders in Portugal in 2022-23, making monstrous defensive contributions for Amorim’s side. His impressive numbers translated to European football nicely, making more tackles than any player in the entire Champions League campaign – despite Sporting getting knocked out in the group stage.

Ugarte is at his best when he is allowed to cover a lot of ground in the midfield and throw himself into tackles and duels. The 23 year-old’s aggressive style does come with risks, but the protection that Amorim’s three at the back system offers means that there is plenty of support behind him to cover any mistakes that he may make.

If history is anything to go by, then the fans will be wary. After enjoying success together at Ajax, many thought that Erik ten Hag would help kick start Donny van de Beek’s Manchester United career. Two seasons, 12 appearances and a transfer to Girona later – that was not the case.

If Amorim sticks to his preferred tactics in the Premier League, the hope is that Ugarte can return to the role he played so well at Sporting, forget about his underwhelming start and become a fan favourite for the Red Devils.