It’s not been a great campaign for Manchester United so far this year, but after back-to-back defeats, Erik ten Hag’s side picked up their second Premier League win of the season away to Southampton on Saturday.The Red Devils managed to weather some early pressure from the Saints before putting three past them to collect all three points and hopefully kickstart a run of better form.
However, it wasn’t the perfect performance, and with a League Cup tie against Barnsley to come this evening, it would make sense for Ten Hag to make some changes and drop a starter who didn’t have his best game over the weekend.
Kobbie Mainoo’s game in numbers
Yes, the starter in question is wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo, and before the pitchforks come out, we aren’t saying he should sit out for multiple games, but considering he seemed a little off the pace on Saturday, it wouldn’t hurt him to miss tonight’s clash.
It isn’t just us saying the young Englishman had an off-game for the Red Devils, either.
ESPN’s Adam Brown gave him just a 5/10 after the clash, writing that it was a ‘difficult match’ for the teenager, which ‘saw him struggle to move the ball forwards, giving away possession on a number of occasions.’
It may sound harsh, but it’s an assessment backed up by the Stockport-born gem’s statistics from the match. For example, in his 96 minutes of action, he failed in 50% of his dribbles, lost the ball 14 times, committed two fouls and misplaced his one cross.
Overall, the young “baller,” as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, didn’t have the best of games for United, which is one of the reasons he should be dropped for tonight.
The others are that he shouldn’t be overplayed at his age, and it will allow Ten Hag to give another midfield star some much-needed minutes against weaker opposition.
Why Manuel Ugarte should start
So, when the teamsheets for tonight’s fixture come out, Manuel Ugarte should start in the midfield ahead of Mainoo, and there are two simple reasons why.
The first is what we touched on above about the need to manage the youngster’s minutes this season, as while he has bags and bags of talent, playing him into the ground will do nobody any favours and could impact his development a few years down the line.
However, the second and primary reason Ten Hag should be selecting the summer signing this evening is that after playing against Paraguay for 79 minutes and Venezuela for 90 minutes during the international break, he is clearly fit enough to play.
That said, while he seems to be physically ready to start for United, he won’t necessarily have the match sharpness nor the full awareness of what the manager wants him to do for the team, and the best way to remedy that is to get him playing competitive games as soon as possible.
Now, if this was a league match, then it would be quite risky to throw the Uruguayan “monster”, as dubbed by Statman Dave, into the fray, but as Barnsley are currently plying their trade in League One, even a slightly rusty and disjointed display from the 24-capped international should be enough.
Ugarte FBref Scout Report | ||
---|---|---|
Stats | Per 90 | Percentile |
Tackles | 4.21 | Top 1% |
Interceptions | 2.06 | Top 1% |
Tackles Won | 2.42 | Top 2% |
Dribblers Tackled | 1.87 | Top 2% |
Ball Recoveries | 7.63 | Top 4% |
Pass completion | 91.3% | Top 5% |
All Stats via FBref |
After all, according to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, the 23-year-old sits in the top 1% of midfielders for tackles and interceptions, the top 2% for tackles won and dribblers tackled, the top 4% for ball recoveries, the top 5% for pass completion and the top 9% for carries, all per 90.
Ultimately, Mainoo could do with a rest after a slightly underwhelming performance last time out, and Ugarte needs to get more minutes under his belt to better understand his role at United. Tonight’s match against Barnsley presents Ten Hag with the perfect opportunity to do both.