Manuel Ugarte: Sporting’s outstanding destroyer is the midfielder Chelsea and Liverpool need

The Portuguese Primeira Liga is fast becoming a hot buy-in for Premier League teams, with Sporting CP’s Manuel Ugarte the latest player to capture the attention of England’s biggest sides.

In the 2022/23 season, the Premier League spent well over €300m in transfer fees to sign players from the league, including standout names like Enzo Fernandez and Darwin Nunez.

It looks like spending will continue as Ugarte attracts interest from Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa.

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The Uruguayan midfielder, now 22, has been in the league for over two years and joined Famalicao from Fenix ​​in early 2021. After only half a season he was taken over by Sporting, where he has been since.

His current deal runs until 2026 but comes with a €60m release clause which could well be worth it after his impressive performances over the year.

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Ugarte at Sporting

In his first season at Sporting, Ugarte was a squad player, ahead of the likes of Matheus Nunes and Joao Palhinha in the pecking order. Their respective departures to the Premier League last summer gave him a regular place in the starting XI, which he grabbed with both hands.

Among his outfield mates, Ugarte has played the third most minutes in the league this season with over 2,300. Aside from his impressive performances, a key reason he hasn’t been rotated is that there is no one else in the squad who can play his role at a similar level.

This season, Sporting has used a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 formation almost exclusively. However, when in possession they tend to move into a 3-1-5-1 structure as one of the two central midfielders pushes forward while the other stays behind. Ugarte played the latter role, so he acted as his team’s sole midfielder in possession.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the pizza chart to get a basic idea of ​​what Ugarte is doing for his squad.

Of course, it’s important to note that these percentiles are calculated from a relatively large data set that includes all midfielders – from No. 10 to No. 6 and everything in between – so a low score on certain metrics doesn’t necessarily mean that a player this also does bad in these things.

In the case of Ugarte, much of this visualization reflects the responsibility his role at Sporting brings. As a result, he scores poorly on all attack metrics simply because he doesn’t often get into the last third.

Defensive midfielders are generally expected to play a key role in their team’s ball development. As such, Ugarte’s average stats in these metrics for one of the most possession-dominant teams in the league might raise some eyebrows. But again, it’s important to understand the context behind it.

In the Sporting system, the full-backs are primarily responsible for bringing the ball forward to the attackers. Ugarte’s job is simply to circulate possession and keep the ball while his teammates look for openings in the opposition’s defensive structures. That is why he has a very high passport completion rate of over 91%.

Of course, he can throw a long ball forward when the opportunity arises and he’s done that a couple of times, mostly playing crossfield passes wide of the target.

Ugarte’s most obvious direct contribution to his team’s ball development is carrying. Especially against sides lower in the table and defending deep, the Uruguayan midfielder often has plenty of time and space after receiving the ball and he’s not afraid to capitalize on it.

He’s averaged 44.6 runs per 90 in the league this season, and while many of those are short and/or sideways, he’s building on some of those when the opportunity arises.

Overall, Ugarte’s possession performance hasn’t been particularly exceptional this season, but that’s because it’s not required. His role in the Sporting system requires above all security on the ball, so he usually proceeds with caution.

What makes Ugarte so attractive to so many top teams across Europe is his off-ball qualities. Coming back to his stats, we can see that Ugarte’s defensive stats stand out. Lots of defensive action isn’t necessarily a sign of being good defensively, but Ugarte excels from every angle.

Let’s start with his defense in transition, which is invaluable for most of Europe’s elite teams as almost all of them strive to dominate the ball and therefore can be vulnerable to counterattacks. At first glance, Sporting’s 3-1-5-1 system might seem a bit extreme, as only four players remain (as opposed to five, which is the norm with popular forms like the 3-2-2-3) . and the 2-3-2-3) and only one in midfield – but Ugarte allows them to do that.

He has all the qualities needed to protect his defense against counterattacks – speed at backtracking, spatial awareness and great anticipation to pick the right positions, and an athletic build with great upper body strength to win tackles and opponents on the ball to overwhelm .

Most of these qualities also come in handy on solid defense, where Sporting tends to adopt a high-pressing approach. They use a midfield with two players off the ball, giving Ugarte more freedom to act up front and defend in such instances. Here, too, his spatial imagination and his duel strength help his team enormously.

All in all, Ugarte can be described as an outstanding defensive midfielder who puts in a lot of work off the ball, averaging over 16 defensive actions per 90 and winning 58% of his tackles. Even if he is still so young, you can hardly find any mistakes in his defensive game.

What’s next for Ugarte?

Given Ugarte’s good performances this season, a €60m release clause isn’t particularly expensive in today’s market – especially for a player who has only recently turned 22. If clubs with that purchasing power feel like they can use him as a regular, they should definitely consider signing him.

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea are among the teams associated with him. In this case, however, it would be a very smart and sensible signing for them as they desperately need a defensively strong defensive midfielder. A doubles player with Ugarte’s defensive skills and Enzo Fernandez’s ball power could dominate the Premier League for the next decade.

Liverpool have also been linked with him for a while but their interest should depend on what they plan to do with Fabinho. The Brazilian defensive midfielder has slacked off a bit this season. So if they are looking to find a replacement for him, Ugarte could thrive in their new system, with Trent Alexander-Arnold moving into midfield when in possession.

Aston Villa, who are not among the traditional top six, are also associated with a move from Ugarte. While his €60m transfer fee represents a sizeable chunk of their transfer budget, the signing of players like Ugarte can be seen as a declaration of intent from a side poised to qualify for Europe. Ultimately, however, they could find it difficult to stop him from switching to one of the big hitters.