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Erik ten Hag's decision to drop the two central defenders he had worked with previously and pushed to be reunited with at Old Trafford attracted plenty of attention this week, but it wasn't his only surprising selection call.

Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez were signed to form a first-choice central defensive pairing at Manchester United, but they struggled horribly in the 3-3 draw at Porto. Although their absence from the starting XI against Aston Villa was put down to rotation, it was clear both had been dropped.

The problem with Ten Hag's current claim that every selection call is down to rotation is that it simply doesn't stack up. Central defenders are rarely rotated, and while the wingers are in and out of the team every week, Bruno Fernandes plays when available.

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Then there is the case of 32-year-old Christian Eriksen, who played 90 minutes in Porto on Thursday and then 90 minutes in the Midlands on Sunday before heading away with Denmark on international duty. But there was a reason Eriksen was forced into action twice in four days.

That was because Manuel Ugarte, a summer signing recruited specifically to fill the problematic holding midfield position, was an unused substitute across the two games that were set to decide Ten Hag's future. It felt like a telling call from the manager.

United went with Casemiro alongside Eriksen in Porto, and then Kobbie Mainoo returned at Villa Park. When Mainoo departed with five minutes to go, it was Casemiro who came on ahead of Ugarte. This pecking order has been reversed in the month since Ugarte made his debut ahead of the Brazilian at Southampton.

Speaking before that game, Ten Hag spoke positively but cautiously about the midfielder signed from Paris Saintt-Germain for an initial £42m, with the fee potentially rising to £50.5m, suggesting he had been aware of his qualities for a long time.

"He’s been on my radar a long time, he played for Sporting Lisbon vs Ajax," said Ten Hag. "He’s coming in as a late transfer but he’s playing a very important position, connecting the defending with attacking and attacking with defending, communication is very important to guide the team and lead the team, make the connections between defence and attack.

"We have to help and guide him about how to play that role but what we have seen, he knows a lot already and has the profile where we think he can fit in that role. We have to teach him some details about how it works in our team."

It's certainly not been a great start for Ugarte at Old Trafford. He looked encouraging against Barnsley, but then he should do against a League One side. He completed 90 minutes against FC Twente, but his only Premier League start was against Tottenham and he struggled. To go from that to an unused substitute against Porto and Aston Villa felt damning.

The context is the reported decision to press ahead with the signing when Ten Hag wasn't entirely convinced. United's recruitment team pursued this deal as part of the structure put in place by Ineos.

Ten Hag doesn't look convinced by the evidence he's seen so far, either. Ugarte was supposed to be that key midfield signing, the holding player who would shore up an exposed defence and cover enough ground to push Mainoo further forward.

That Casemiro, whose days at Old Trafford look numbered after a dreadful display against Liverpool, seems to have forged ahead again in the battle to play in midfield raises questions.

In Ugarte's defence, these are still early days. As Ten Hag has said on several occasions, he will need time, but it's certainly fair to have expected a bigger impact. And if he isn't playing, it's hard to see how that development comes at all.

Results and performances are Ten Hag's biggest issue and the reason he is fighting for his future at United, but his transfer record hasn't been faultless. Even if this one wasn't his call, there will be an expectation to get the most out of a player who cost £50m.