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By WILL PICKWORTH, SPORTS REPORTER Published: 05: 52 AEDT, 14 January 2026 | Updated: 08: 10 AEDT, 14 January 2026 15 View comments Rio Ferdinand has criticised Manuel Ugarte and expressed his disappointment at how his move to Old Trafford has played out. Ugarte, 24, has struggled since joining Manchester United from PSG for £51million at the start of last season, and he has regularly found himself out of the starting XI. The Uruguayan previously impressed at Sporting Lisbon under Ruben Amorim but his former boss was said to critical of the Uruguayan during his tenure at United. Midfield continues to be a problem position for the Red Devils and Ferdinand expressed his frustration that Ugarte, who has been linked with a move away this month, hasn't been a success. 'I've got to be honest, I have been disappointed with Ugarte, ' he told Rio Ferdinand Presents. 'He is one player when he came in everybody said he's got legs, he can tackle, he can move. The description I was getting was he was the right type of player we needed. Rio Ferdinand said he is frustrated at how Manuel Ugarte's time at Man United has played out 'It just hasn't materialised, it hasn't come to the fore. I haven't seen the player that everybody was talking about before in terms of being able to get up against people quickly and tackle. That's meant to be a big part of his game, being aggressive. 'He hasn't put a marker down in a game that's made me think "this guy could be one of our midfield dogs who is really going to get things going in the midfield". He hasn't got anywhere near that. ' United confirmed the appointment of Michael Carrick as their interim boss until the end of the season on Tuesday night after Amorim's sacking last week, and Ferdinand felt Ugarte's struggles were symptomatic of the issues facing their former midfielder. 'Can Michael Carrick get any more out of him? ,' he added. 'That is going to be a big challenge for Michael Carrick: Can he get any more out of these players as individuals to make the team better? 'He's got to get both of those bits better, the team better and the individual players playing to a high level and get so much more out of them. 'How he goes about that will be the acid test because far too often we see players playing below par or they're just giving us little moments here or there. ' Ferdinand also felt one of the key beneficiaries of Carrick's arrival could be Benjamin Sesko. The striker has flattered to deceive since joining from RB Leipzig for a fee rising to £73. 7m in the summer, scoring just five goals in 19 games, although he did net three times across two matches last week. Ferdinand did add that he expects Benjamin Sesko to be one player to improve under Carrick 'Sesko could have an improvement, ' Ferdinand added. 'Carrick was one of those players, he was trusted as one of the top three or four players in our team to get the ball into dangerous areas for people to create one vs one situations or get in on goal, or the pass before the goal. 'So he understands that way of thinking and what a striker needs. I think he will put the pieces around somebody like Sesko. 'I look at Sesko and if he is firing on all cylinders he is one of them ones I don't think you want to play against. If he has a good day, he's a player you go "ooh, he's quick, he's strong, he can jump, he's athletic". 'A lot of those attributes you think I don't really want that around me. He needs good service for all those attributes to come out and Michael will be looking at that and thinking "how can I get the ball into this guy and put him in areas where defenders will make mistakes? "' United are currently seventh in the Premier League, one point behind fifth-place Brentford. They return to action on Sunday with a home game against arch-rivals Man City.
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