Ruben Amorim believes Manuel Ugarte is a "good example" to the Manchester United squad.

Ugarte needed time to find his feet in Manchester after signing from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day but the midfielder is now going from strength to strength.

The 23-year-old delivered a superb performance in last month's victory against Manchester City and demonstrated his quality again in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool last weekend.

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Amorim was reluctant to single out Ugarte for praise at Anfield, but he was asked directly about the Uruguay international again ahead of facing Arsenal in the FA Cup third round.

Ugarte built a reputation as one of Europe's finest defensive midfielders during his time working with Amorim at Sporting Lisbon and United's head coach explained how he has improved.

“I think he is better with the ball, playing between the lines," said Amorim. "He continues to be an aggressive player, but I think he has improved in some ways because he trained with some of the players at PSG; when you train with different players, you have a different confidence, in training you have different problems and you improve.

"He is in a really important position in the team and it was easier to pass the message to Ugarte but I think all the other ones have improved. I think Kobbie Mainoo is improving a lot during the last matches.

"I think you guys [journalists] feel like Kobbie Mainoo is the finished product, he is not, he has so much potential to grow up even more. He is really, really good but he can be so much better.

"I think he is improving, all the players are improving, all the players are important for me, no matter whether they worked with me in the past."

Amorim was asked whether Ugarte is setting the standard in the dressing room and responded: “It is his style, he is from Uruguay, that can help. He is a good example, a lot of players are giving their best."

Ugarte and Mainoo were expected to be Amorim's preferred midfield partnership this season but the pair started alongside each other for just the fifth time against Liverpool on Sunday.

Mainoo made headlines this week due his contract situation. United opened talks over a new deal for the 19-year-old last year, but discussions have stalled and Chelsea are interested in his signature, which has led to some uncertainty over his long-term future at the club.

Amorim insists he wanted to keep Mainoo and both parties are expected to return to the negotiating table to discuss revised terms. Mainoo would prefer to stay at boyhood club but his camp believe his squad status is not currently reflected by his wages.