Man Utd ‘missed opportunity’ to ‘complete midfield’ by signing Ugarte over Barcelona star

Man Utd missed a trick in the summer transfer window by not signing Dani Olmo, according to former Red Devils striker Louis Saha.

The Red Devils had a successful summer transfer window with Erik ten Hag landing the signings of Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.

Man Utd have started poorly this season under Ten Hag with the Dutchman leading his side to an opening day victory over Fulham on the opening day before suffering back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Liverpool.

Ugarte could bring many of the skills Man Utd supporters think they have been lacking in the middle of the park with Casemiro currently looking out of his depth .

But Saha reckons new Barcelona signing Olmo would’ve been the man to “complete” their midfield and the former Man Utd striker sees it as “an opportunity missed”.

Saha told Betfred : “Before the Euros, I would have wanted Manchester United to sign Dani Olmo. He’s now a Barcelona player but as a number ten, he would have filled a position that we need.

“He’s in a similar bracket to Bruno Fernandes and he’s a player that’s capable of playing in midfield and providing that stability we need when we defend, but at the same time is capable of being a threat every time we go forward.

“This is a big miss for Manchester United because they’ve let Jadon Sancho go and I don’t believe Manuel Ugarte is capable of doing what Olmo can. He would have been the perfect option for the club to complete their midfield. It’s an opportunity missed.

“Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen could have been an alternative option because he’s a very clever boy with a big, big engine. These are the types of players we need.”

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Kobbie Mainoo has started all of the Red Devils’ three Premier League matches so far this season but Saha reckons it’s a “big ask to rely upon him”.

When asked if Man Utd are relying over Mainoo too much, Saha added: “Yes. I’m a big fan of Kobbie, but he’s still very young. He needs time to learn the game and impose a different kind of tempo because sometimes he looks too comfortable on the ball and doesn’t provide that unpredictability that’s needed.

“We need a change of tempo in that midfield and I don’t think Kobbie’s as capable of doing this as we’d like.

“Towards the end of his career, Paul Scholes dropped deeper into the midfield, but he was still a threat going forward. At this moment in time, this is the type of player we need. Kobbie doesn’t have that stability in the midfield, so it’s a big ask to rely upon him so much.

“Casemiro’s also been asked to play a different role too, so the stability in that area is an issue. As Kobbie’s so young, he’s going to make mistakes and we saw that against Liverpool.”