'I am convinced' - Ruud van Nistelrooy defends two players Manchester United signed for £78million

Ruud van Nistelrooy has backed Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee to succeed at Old Trafford following their transfers to Manchester United in the summer.

Zirkzee became United's first signing of the summer transfer window when he arrived from Bologna for €42.5million (£36.5m) and was signed to support Rasmus Hojlund in attack.

Ugarte was the final arrival of the window and the midfielder signed from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day for €50million (£42.3m), with €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons.

Although United splashed an initial £78m to sign both Zirkzee and Ugarte, neither have consistently started in the Premier League. Zirkzee has started just four games in the league since signing and Ugarte has been given just one start, which came in the 3-0 hammering to Tottenham.

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There is still an aura around Van Nistelrooy, 12 years on since his retirement as a player, and he entered the press room at Carrington with a wide smile on Thursday afternoon.

When the 48-year-old was asked about Ugarte, he said: "I'm convinced about Manuel that he will be a great player for United. He had a very good performance yesterday and against Fenerbahce he had a good performance. I think, of course, getting players in an early conclusion, players who are here for two or three months, we should be careful with that I think.

"It's a great signing, he's a very good player, professional, he has very specific qualities in midfield when he gets in between players and recover the ball for us to get us in attacking positions. Also on the ball, very decent, so I mean he will be a very good player for this club."

It's understood Ugarte wasn't former manager Erik ten Hag's preferred choice to strengthen his midfield in the summer but he should particularly benefit from Ruben Amorim's appointment, as he thrived playing under the new United boss during his time at Sporting Lisbon.

"The recruitment is not part of the assistant manager, but I can comment on my work with Manuel on a daily basis. He's adjusting, he wants to adjust and be part of this squad," Van Nistelrooy said.

"He wants to do well for this club and is very motivated to do so. He is getting better every time and the performance yesterday was good and we can build on that. We are very thin in midfield and we're going to need him in the coming games, which I think he'll do well in."

Van Nistelrooy also backed Zirkzee to excel in a red shirt. "Josh is a similar answer to Manuel Ugarte's situation. Josh came in and he's a young player with a lot of potential," he said.

"He is a typical No.9 in the sense that his hold up play is very good, he's very strong in combination play. He's a different type than Rasmus because Rasmus is more of a No.9 who plays high up the pitch and he's getting in the back of defenders.

"Josh is more of a player who is coming toward the ball and gets the team playing. In the Crystal Palace game, I thought he was excellent and showed one of his best performances.

"Another one with a lot of talent, he's a good age and has a lot of potential to develop. We have to look after him, give him time because he will get better and will be a very good player."

Additionally, there were questions about Van Nistelrooy's future. "That's a good question actually, obviously I think this would be the only job I would take as an assistant because of the whole thing that I've just explained," said Van Nistelrooy about wanting to be a manager again.

"For two years, for me, it was important to get a feel of it, how is it going over that period, and make a decision after that. Is this something that is fulfilling for me in my job?

"I have to say, at the moment, I've really enjoyed the role as an assistant. Obviously the decision to make for Man United was a big one, which is why I'm in this role and can commit myself to the role as assistant manager and I did it with great pride and I really enjoyed it.

"I will enjoy it again after this. After two years, I have to see how things go. Obviously things can change, we all know that, but we'll see, I'm not thinking in that way, I'm not here to prove myself in that way, I'm here to help.

"I'm here to do the best I can and the club is the most important thing. We need to do the best we can to get a result on Sunday and that is my focus. All the other things are not in my mind."

Van Nistelrooy played 219 games for United and many of his former teammates are employed as pundits, which means their assessments of the club can sometimes be painful to receive.

When asked about such opinions, Van Nistelrooy said: "I mean, we all do our jobs don't we and I think basically they care for the club and they want it to do well, so they are disappointed as well.

"When it doesn't go well for the club, they have opinions on it and I think it's absolutely fine and I don't take it personal. When I see them, I have a cup of coffee with them and I don't have any problems with that. I appreciate them as former colleagues, some of them I'm still in touch with them, and that's the path they choose.

"Others stay in football more on the football side, so for me, it's absolutely fine. In the end, you're going to be judged and I think yesterday was good, we had positive critics and everyone was positive. In football things can change, things can continue, I don't believe the hype or drama that much.

"It's the world we live in and it's important to stay calm and focussed, and just do my job on a daily basis. I think that also has to be the case for the club."