MANUEL UGARTE has warned Erik ten Hag against playing him out of position after he featured as a centre-back for Uruguay.
The Red Devils midfielder, 23, made his debut for the Premier League giants last month and featured five times before the international break.
In all of those games he was used as a midfielder, but he then joined up with Uruguay and played at centre-half in their 1-0 defeat to Peru.
The positional switch will have been noted by Man Utd fans – who have watched midfielders such as Casemiro and Sofyan Amrabat be moved to the Man Utd back line under Ten Hag.
But Ugarte has made it clear he does not see himself as a defender following a difficult 90 minutes in Peru.
Speaking to ESPN about Uruguay’s defeat, he said: “It was not a good match. We did not play well, it was a shame because I still believe that we are much better, but the match was ugly for us.
“The dressing room was strong before the match, the atmosphere was nice, but little by little we faded and we did not show good things in the match.
“Everyone can play and has the conditions to do so, but many times, when changing players it takes a little [time] to adapt.
“It is not an excuse either, the team’s performance dropped. We need to go deeper, as we saw against Peru, we have to keep working.
“Honestly, I felt good with the ball, but I lack certain things as a defender.
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“These are things that always enrich a player.”
Ugarte joined Man Utd from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth £51million.
He is expected to be the long-term replacement to Casemiro in the heart of Man Utd’s midfield.
But Ten Hag is in the midst of a defensive injury crisis with Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw and Noussair Mazraoui all sidelined.
Man Utd host Brentford on Saturday afternoon before they travel to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League on October 24.
