In the latest instalment of The Redmen TV’s Transfer Insight Show, Dan Clubbe was joined by Portuguese football journalist Aaron Barton. The founder of Proxima Jornada, Aaron also writes for Eurosport and Opta, so his credentials and opinions are well respected in the footballing world.
The latest name to land on Liverpool’s transfer wish list is Sporting Lisbon and Uruguayan defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
Somewhat of an unknown quantity for many football fans in the UK, since he applies his trade across the Mediterranean in Portugal’s Primeira Liga. But fear not, here at Redmen we’ve done our research and we will give you the lowdown on the latest player to hop on to Jurgen Klopp’s transfer Carousel.
Barton suggested that the influx of interest surrounding the 22-year-old comes as no surprise to him
“I’ve been very impressed [with Ugarte], the interest from Liverpool makes complete sense. I think anyone who watches him week in and week out will know that he’s the type of midfielder that Liverpool really lack.” He said.
Liverpool v Brentford | Match Preview
Ugarte started to make a name for himself in 2021, during this time at Famalicao, and he was quickly snapped up by Sporting after just six months of playing in the Portuguese League. Throughout his career in Libson, he has played alongside huge talents who have also earned big moves to the Premier League.
“You really could see him playing in a Klopp side, Ugarte replaced Joao Paulinha, and Matheus Nunes who both went on to move to premier league clubs [Fulham and Wolves] and adapted to the league very quickly, I imagine Ugarte would be very much the same” Barton reported.
Ugarte tends to thrive whilst occupying the six role and it is his ferocious tenacity which makes him one of the world’s elite ball winners. Klopp’s system is heavily based on pressing his opponents, often forcing the opposition into a mistake. Once possession is regained a frenetic scramble upfield ensues – It’s Ugarte’s ball-winning capabilities and commitment to his defensive duties which impress Liverpool the most.
Barton was quick to highlight his defensive strengths and capabilities during the show.
“He [Ugarte] is in the top 1% [of the Primeira Liga] for tackles, tackles attempted, dribbles, interceptions, and blocks. Basically, he’s got so much energy, he puts himself about so much.”
Sporting have picked several unlikely wins throughout the course of the season, a victory against Spurs in the Champions League group stages meant they almost qualified from a difficult group. Since Sporting was relegated to the Europa League for finishing third in their group, they beat Midtjylland in the round of 32, and knocked Arsenal out of the round of 16 is a European classic across both legs.
Ugarte has been priceless in both the domestic and European competitions for Sporting this season. In the Portuguese side’s first group game of this year’s Champions League Ugarte made a record twelve (12) tackles against Frankfurt, which further highlights his desire to win the ball back.
One problem with Ugarte is his disciplinary record, the Uruguayan boasts an erratic 10 yellow cards in the Portuguese top flight, a further four in European competitions as well as a red card against Arsenal in the Europa League. The Latin American averages 2.46 fouls every 90 minutes, so this is something Jurgen Klopp will want to reign in if Liverpool are to secure his signature in the summer.
Redmen Reacts
I believe this would be a massive coup for Liverpool this summer, they have already had success in the Portuguese market with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, though the latter isn’t quite firing on all cylinders just yet. We’ve also seen how much Fabinho has struggled at times this season, he’s been sluggish in and out of possession so reinforcements in the six role would help take some of the strain off the Brazilian’s body.
Finally, we’ve seen the Reds have plenty of success with South Americans over the years, their mentality seems to really suit the Anfield crowd and the Liverpool ethos. If the Anfield club can secure Ugarte along with a couple more midfielders we could see a very different outcome to next year’s Premier League…
TO HEAR MORE FROM AARON ON MANUEL UGARTE, CLICK HERE
