Erik ten Hag has admitted defeat with one Man United summer signing

Out of the five Manchester United signings brought in by Erik ten Hag this summer, just one started Sunday’s game at Aston Villa and only Leny Yoro had the excuse of injury.

Fans are hoping he will show more assurance than Matthijs De Ligt, who only took to the field at Villa Park due to Harry Maguire’s injury, following a difficult opening few months. Noussair Mazraoui was the sole new recruit to begin the match but arguably only did so due to a full-back injury crisis.

Diogo Dalot continues to fill in at left-back amid the ongoing setbacks to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, but would be the first choice at right-back when either returns. Joshua Zirkzee was always going to be the back-up when Rasmus Hojlund recovered from injury.

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He came on in the second half which means he has yet to score in nine games. And then there’s the case of Manuel Ugarte, the £42million deadline day arrival.

Hopes of him being the answer to the Casemiro problem have markedly dwindled over the past three games. Having been run ragged in the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, the 23-year-old has failed to play in the two United games since.

The theory of rest being the reason behind his full-game benching against Porto on Thursday proved unfounded by full-time on Sunday, with Ten Hag once more leaving him on the touchline.

The manager had instead started Christian Eriksen alongside Kobbie Mainoo and replaced the latter with Casemiro, the man Ugarte was supposed to usurp, in the second half. It seems, for now, Ten Hag has admitted defeat with Ugarte.

Of course, it is very early days and he still has plenty of time to prove critics wrong. Ugarte has only been available for four Premier League games and it ought to be noted that his first minutes of the season came for Uruguay during the last international break.

He failed to play for Paris Saint-Germain prior to his transfer to United and his first two league appearances were substitutions from the bench as he got back up to speed.

However, starting against Spurs but not playing since can only count as a backwards step with no inkling that the player is battling injury. To not even be afforded a late cameo in either subsequent match is especially cutting given the context.

United needed more midfield coverage against Porto and could have been forgiven for fielding two pivots in the latter stages at Villa Park to secure a worthy, if unhelpful, point. Ugarte, a defensive midfielder, was left unused in both.

Ugarte has been named in Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay squad for their World Cup qualifiers this international break and will almost certainly get much-needed minutes under his belt. The return of club football sees United host Brentford.

In the abode of Old Trafford against a side United have not lost to at home since 1937, the fixture seems like the perfect opportunity for Ugarte to kickstart his mini-revival. If he goes unused again or is given just a short cameo, then Ten Hag - if still in situ - will be facing a cross-examination of his Ugarte acquiral.