After Manuel Ugarte had put pen to paper on a five-year deal at Old Trafford on deadline day, Manchester United were confident they had found the final piece to add to their midfield jigsaw.

United had been chasing Ugarte’s tail all summer, spending several weeks locked in negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain before finally reaching an agreement to bring him to the Premier League as the window reached its closing stages.

Following Casemiro’s sharp and unexpected decline, United knew they could not say farewell to the summer window having not recruited a new defensive-midfielder. It was considered as a mission they simply could not afford to fail.

Ugarte arrived in M16 with a growing reputation for being one of the best defensive-minded midfielders in the business. Sporting director Dan Ashworth described him as being ‘among the very best ball-winning midfield players in the world’.

Prior to Thursday night’s 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce in Istanbul, United and their supporters had seen very little evidence of that. However, in Ugarte’s defence, the midweek stalemate with Jose Mourinho’s men marked just his fourth start in United colours.

Deployed next to Christian Eriksen, who scored United’s only goal, and just behind Noussair Mazraoui in a midfield trio nobody could have possibly predicted, Ugarte produced his best showing for the club since arriving from the French capital.

He was key in instigating Eriksen’s opener, winning possession back deep inside United’s half and setting the attackers on their way. He also produced a goal-saving block to thwart Dusan Tadic less than 10 minutes later.

Nine years Casemiro’s junior, Ugarte has the legs and the energy to bomb around United’s midfield, providing the discipline the team is so desperately in need of in the No.6 position. It is important neither Ugarte or United get too ahead of themselves after one encouraging performance, but it felt like a breakthrough moment for the Uruguayan.

As a result, Ugarte now needs to be given the platform to build on his best performance in a United shirt thus far, starting by retaining his place in the XI for Sunday’s trip to West Ham United. Only by playing consistently and finding a settled rhythm will he improve and begin to justify his initial £42.3million price tag.

Another element that has to be taken into consideration is that Ugarte, across his first four starts for United, has played in four different midfield trios. Only against Tottenham Hotspur – his only Premier League start to date – has he started alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes in what many consider United’s strongest three-man midfield.

Mainoo will miss Sunday’s trip to West Ham through injury but Fernandes is guaranteed to come back into the starting XI after missing the midweek trip to Turkey through suspension. The Portuguese international will lead the midfield from the No.10 position.

Desperately light on midfield options at this moment in time, Erik ten Hag is not knee-deep in options, meaning, should Ugarte retain his place, Eriksen or Casemiro will occupy the final midfield spot. Eriksen has been a shining light so far this term, scoring four goals and registering three assists, meaning he deserves to keep his place.

Should Ten Hag deploy a midfield trio of Ugarte, Eriksen and Fernandes at the London Stadium, it will be the first time they will have started a Premier League game together, with their only previous outing as a trio coming against FC Twente in the Europa League last month.

On paper, it looks like a balanced, well-rounded midfield, featuring a sense of defensive steel and creativity. Eriksen will be expected to assist Ugarte defensively and supply the forwards, assisting Fernandes with the attacking side of the operation.

Casemiro, having started on the bench in Turkey, is by no means out of the equation to start, but Ten Hag could be criticised for either starting two defensive-minded midfielders in a game United need to win, or for taking Ugarte out of the starting line-up just as he aims to try and get up ahead of steam.

As congested as the fixture calendar is, Ten Hag needs to find an element of consistency with his team selections, both to help his players collectively and individually.