Man Utd reminded of summer transfer mistake by £66m star, he would be Ruben Amorim’s best player

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Manchester United have missed out on some truly great footballers over the years and under Ineos, this has yet to change.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his band of football recruitment wizards took charge of Manchester United last summer and made some promising moves.

Ineos made a real statement early in the summer, with United’s acquisition of Leny Yoro a real eye-catcher which left Real Madrid speechless.

However, in hindsight, the rest of United’s summer transfer business in 2024 was underwhelming and has so far struggled to adjust – despite featuring players in their prime.

The signing of Manuel Ugarte has been one move yet to really justify itself. Ugarte has impressed at times for United, but ultimately his one-dimensional game has frustrated fans. This is considering PSG upgraded on Ugarte.

• READ MORE: Who are INEOS? Exploring Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s billion-pound business

Manchester United should have signed Joao Neves instead of Manuel Ugarte

PSG replaced Ugarte with Joao Neves who was also a United target, and so far the Parisien side has undoubtedly gotten the best of the deal.

Last summer, it looked pretty nailed on that Neves would move from Benfica to Old Trafford. The teenager was alongside Kobbie Mainoo as Europe’s best breakout midfielder for the 2023/24 season.

Bruno Fernandes raved about Neves which made a deal look inevitable, considering the captain had given seal of approval.

Ultimately a deal was not found, with the belief Benfica were holding out for Neves’ £105m release clause. This was a figure that United’s reported bid of £51m came nowhere near reaching with £42m instead being spent on Ugarte.

Neves went on to join PSG for just £66m. There was just £24m between the players, yet the difference in quality looks double that right now.

In the midfield for PSG, Neves has had a great season and continued this on Wednesday in the Champions League during a 7-0 win over Brest.

• 72 minutes
• 1 shot
• 62 passes
• 93 per cent pass accuracy
• 2 chances created
• 1 successful dribble
• 5 long passes
• 1 tackle
• 7 recoveries
• 3 duels

This performance from the 20-year-old was very impressive and will have reminded United of the mistake they made in not finding a way to pay for Neves.

In France, the media is no longer surprised at performances of this level from Neves. The outlet Maxi Foot scored him just a 7/10 with some modest praise.

“Another good match for the midfielder. His activity to scratch balls and offer solutions to his teammates does his team a lot of good. It is his centre that leads to PSG’s second goal.”

• READ: Who is Manuel Ugarte? Everything you need to know on Uruguay midfielder

Joao Neves is having an incredible season for PSG

Despite it only being his debut campaign, Neves has been phenomenal in midfield over in France.

United scouts were gutted to miss out on Neves, and they are just right to feel this way when considering his impressive season to date, with three goals and eight assists in all competitions.

Neves looks likely to be the best midfielder in football at some point in the future and he would already be Ruben Amorim’s key man in midfield and also best performer if he were to join.

Missing out on the Portuguese talent will forever look like an error. But Ineos will be looking to find a younger and better alternative.