Manuel Ugarte makes new Man Utd vow after struggling since £50m transfer arrival

Manuel Ugarte has vowed to show he is worth the £50million fee Manchester United paid for him.

Ugarte, signed from Paris St Germain a year ago, endured a tough first season as United ended in 15th place – their worst Premier League finish. The Uruguay star failed to deliver on his huge transfer fee and was an unused sub for United's last two games of the season – including the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.

But Ugarte impressed in United's 2-1 win over West Ham in the opening game of their US tour at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. The 24-year-old pressed high, regularly won back possession and went on a fine run to set Amad up for a goal that was ultimately ruled out for offside.

It was a positive start to pre-season for Ugarte, one which suggests he could start in midfield for United in their season opener at home to Arsenal on August 17.

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Asked if he will start the new season with more confidence, Ugarte said: “Without a doubt. I know the rivals, I know the team-mates [better]. All of this is important. Sometimes the connections take time to get to know each other.

“I already know the league, the rivals, which is important. So I’m very happy, but we have to keep going.

“Last year we made some changes. We changed our coach, we changed our formation. We got to know the Premier League.

“This year I'm good, I'm very excited. It's important to perform well with United. You have to have responsibilities when you play for United. I'm very happy and we have to keep going.

“We're very optimistic because we all work together. We try to be humble day by day, game by game and we will see this season.

"Without a doubt, we have to improve things. We're all very motivated, because we believe in the coach, we believe in what he wants and that is very important.”

Ugarte said United's new signings – Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and young defender Diego Leon – had settled in and – in Cunha and Mbeumo - will improve the team with their proven quality in the Premier League.

“All three players who came are very good people and good players,” said Ugarte. “It's important that everyone is together in the dressing room and we have to keep going.

“We won [against West Ham], which was important, but we keep working, because we have a lot to improve. We have more games to play, but I think it's important to have humility.

“We have to work day-in, day-out. We played well in midfield, we controlled the ball, we had the ball, we scored and we recovered well. We all have a good relationship, there is a lot of optimism in the team.”

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