Manchester United’s chances of success in pursuit of Manuel Ugarte may appear a lot less likely as of now but some help may have arrived from a rather unlikely source.
Talks between the Red Devils and Paris Saint-Germain appear to have ran aground with a sizeable gap remaining between the fee Manchester United are willing to pay and the fee the Ligue 1 champions want.
United have reportedly offered only £30 million. PSG, however, are holding out for closer to £50 million. So while Man United are desperate for a new midfielder and Luis Enrique’s side appear keen to sell, £20 million is a gap that will take some bridging.
According to The Athletic, United have now shifted their focus away from Manuel Ugarte and towards alternative targets.
Real Sociedad ace Martin Zubimendi has been mentioned, alongside Burnley’s Sander Berge, Fluminense’s Andre Trindade and Monaco contract rebel Youssouf Fofana.
Joao Gomes, so impressive at Wolves, is another option.
Manuel Ugarte to Manchester United deal in doubt
Now, things have not been entirely extinguished at this stage, even if the flame is now but a flicker.
Perhaps United have floated the idea of pursuing alternatives in an attempt to panic PSG into lowering their demands.
Ugarte is already out of favour and will find game time even harder to come by with Joao Neves – himself recently linked with the Red Devils – arriving from Benfica in a £60 million deal a few days ago.
Sky reporter Florian Plettenberg, meanwhile, writes on X that Ugarte has not given up hope on joining his first-choice club either.
There are obvious similarities here with the deal that would bring Matthijs de Ligt to Old Trafford from Bayern Munich.
The player wants the move. The club are willing to sell. But Ineos will not pay over the odds at a time in which they are desperate to bring an end to that so-called ‘Manchester United tax’ and a damaging tendency to overpay.
Atletico Madrid surely out of Ugarte race
There is, meanwhile, a Chelsea factor to consider.
Barely a transfer rumour emerges these days without the side from Stamford Bridge being mentioned at some point or another. And while Chelsea are not in the race for Ugarte themselves – at least not yet – the impending sale of Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid will remove one of the Uruguayan’s alternative destinations from the race.
Atletico also showed an interest in Ugarte but are now closing in on the England international instead. HITC understands that Diego Simeone’s La Liga giants have agreed a fee of £40 million with Chelsea.
As things stand, however, United will face rivals Man City in Saturday’s Community Shield with Casemiro still their first-choice defensive midfielder.
And that alone is enough to strike fear into the heart of Red Devils’ supporters, the increasingly-erratic Brazilian showcasing those old vulnerabilities again during a typically ramshackle display in the 3-0 pre-season defeat to Liverpool.
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