Manuel Ugarte, Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez must be moved on if Manchester United wish to win a Premier League title.
That’s the view of eSPORTY presenter Angelina Kelly, who has had her say on what improvements the club need to make in order to kick on.
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United are on course to secure Champions League qualification with Michael Carrick guiding the Old Trafford outfit to third spot.
The Red Devils have spent the last two seasons outside of Europe’s premier competition having finished eighth and 15th respectively in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns.
A gap of seven points separates United and Chelsea in sixth spot with six games to go ahead of the meeting between the two teams at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night – live on eSPORTY.
And while optimism is growing from fans that United could mount a title challenge in the near future, question marks still remain over the quality of certain individuals.
United haven’t lifted the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s last season in 2013 – with the club finishing second on just two occasions.
But club CEO Omar Berrada remains confident that his goal of winning the top-flight title by 2028 is still achievable as United edge closer to celebrating their 150th anniversary.
However, speaking on the latest episode of Inside Devils, United fan Kelly stressed that both the midfield and defence needs shaking up.
Starting off with the midfield, she singled out Ugarte, who has so far failed to up to his price tag since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024 in a deal rising to £50.8million.
The 25-year-old has chipped in with two goals and six assists in 69 matches in all competitions since his arrival, but has often been restricted to a back-up role.
Speaking on United’s 2-1 defeat to Leeds at the Theatre of Dreams on Monday, Kelly said: “I think defensively, there is a lot of work to do.
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“I think the lack of Kobbie Mainoo was very, very telling.
“Manuel Ugarte is not good enough, he’s not living up to his price tag.
“I’ve not seen anything from him that makes me think, ‘Yeah, there’s definitely something in there.’
“For me, it’s a no-go, so I think it reaffirms that we need two midfielders in the summer, that is non-negotiable.
“And I know Alex Crook [eSPORTY’s chief football correspondent] has been speaking about that and how it will be two.
“It’s probably not going to be an Elliot Anderson [Nottingham Forest] and an Adam Wharton [Crystal Palace] for example.
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“It might be one superstar and one that’s maybe at a tier below, which I’m not criticising, but two is the bare minimum.”
Kelly then went on to address her concerns in defence – specifically Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez.
United made Maguire the world’s most expensive defender in 2019 when they forked out £80m to prise him away from Leicester.
It was only last week which saw the England international pen a new deal at the club – having faced an uncertain future under previous manager Ruben Amorim.
As for Martinez, who joined from Ajax in a deal worth up to £57m in 2022, he has struggled for fitness in his four seasons in England.
He has been limited to just 16 outings this term – marking his return to action against Leeds after missing five fixtures due to a calf knock.
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And he lasted just 56 minutes before being brandished a straight red card for violent conduct.
Having her say on the duo, Kelly remarked: “You look at someone like Lisandro Martinez, but it was very foolish of him to even put himself in that situation when you’ve not been there for Man United because of injuries.
“I understand he hasn’t got himself injured, it happens, but it’s like, you’ve not been there, you’ve not been consistent, you’ve been injured, you’re back in, then you get yourself sent off.
“And I think that if United were thinking about the summer, realistically, they need to go out and get centre-backs.
“If Forest go down, do Man United look at some of their centre-backs for example?
“You’ve got somebody like [Nikola] Milenkovic, very Nemanja Vidic-esque I guess in that sense, you’ve got Murillo, who is like a Brazilian version of Lisandro Martinez.
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“Those are names that stick out for me, I know everybody talks about Jarrad Branthwaite, I don’t know if he plays enough for Everton.
“But 100 per cent, in my personal opinion, there needs to be at least two-centre-backs.
“Where’s Matthijs de Ligt as well? Again, it’s not his fault that he’s got injured, but we knew this about him.
“And Harry Maguire, his contract extension was 100 per cent needed.
“But Harry Maguire is not the player [to take United forward].
“If Man United actually want to win a Premier League title in 2028, which I’d be very surprised if that happens.
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“An ad hoc centre-back duo of Maguire or Martinez or [Leny] Yoro – maybe by that point [Ayden] Heaven and Yoro would have progressed [in next two years].
“But these are not the players that are going to do that for you [win the Premier League].
“So they need to invest.”
