Manuel Ugarte drops debut hint and reveals one thing he already loves about Manchester United | OneFootball

Summer signing praises new “project” and “atmosphere” around Man Utd

New Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte has suggested that he will be ready to make his debut after the international break.

Erik ten Hag poured doubt over the £42million signing’s ability to make the trip to Southampton on September 14 given he was outcast from the Paris Saint-Germain squad while negotiating his move to Old Trafford.

However, Ugarte has now insisted that he is raring to go.

“I’m very happy, very hungry and very excited,” he was quoted by Sport890 upon his arrival with the Uruguayan national team.

Ten Hag had remarked that “it’s not like I’m Harry Potter” when it came to invigorating the Man Utd team which was beaten 3-0 by Liverpool on the weekend. Summer signings Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui all started the derby while Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw could return from injury after the break.

“It will take time,” the manager said. “It's not like I'm Harry Potter. That's what you have to acknowledge.

“If you see Manuel Ugarte, he didn't play so far in the season. Not one match minute. So he needs to build his fitness and then we have to build him in the team and I'm sure he'll be an important player. But that will take a couple of weeks, maybe even months.”

But Ugarte should get minutes on the pitch with Uruguay in the coming week, when they face Paraguay and Venezuela in World Cup qualification.

Despite United’s struggles of late, the 23-year-old explained why he is eager to get to work with his new teammates.

“The new [co-]owners came and are changing many things,” he continued.

“The project, honestly, it's very good.

“I love the atmosphere there on a daily basis. There is desire to succeed in that team and that encourages me to go further. That’s important.”