REVEALED: The battle of egos over €60m Ugarte to Man Utd transfer

Peter Staunton

22 Aug 2024 17:30 BST
4 min read

Paris Saint-Germain now EXPECT a deal to be done for midfielder Manuel Ugarte to join Manchester United before the end of the summer transfer window, The Transfers Podcast can reveal.

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The French giants have stuck to their €60 million asking price for the Uruguay international throughout discussions with Man Utd and are optimistic of having their demands met.

Ugarte looks set to move to Old Trafford in what is expected to be an immediate cash sale and not a loan deal with an obligation to buy next summer, which is how PSG want the deal to be done.

A deal for the 23-year-old has been held up due to a battle between new Manchester United part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of Paris Saint-Germain.

Last year Qatar investors tried to gain control of Man Utd from the Glazer family, a battle which Ratcliffe won, but Al-Khelaifi is now eager to remind his adversary that he can’t get his own way over Ugarte and, if a deal is to be done it will be done on the PSG president’s terms.

Ugarte’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is understood to have held talks with PSG on Wednesday while United continue to explore alternative deals.

© IMAGO - Manuel Ugarte is set to join Man Utd

United eye other midfield options

United have explored the parameters of signing Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona with the Catalans eager to sell but the Dutchman commands an annual salary of over €20m at present.

Another player in the sights of the Red Devils is Ederson - Atalanta’s Europa League hero, according to The Athletic's football correspondent David Ornstein, who spoke exclusively on the Transfers Podcast.

"Ugarte has only had a year at PSG and he was targeted very high on Manchester United's list from before this summer window coming into the market,” Ornstein said. “And so they started conversations.”

“He was being pursued heavily by PSG and Chelsea and others too. It has not gone to plan and so there's this opportunity to strike for Manchester United and for other clubs who are interested in him. It's not like they're the sole suitor but PSG initially wanted what they paid for him - around €60m.

“Despite what everybody is seeing and asking us relentlessly, there's not an agreement in place yet."

Man Utd’s recruitment team believe Ugarte’s ability to press and win the ball is important to the way the team plays and that is a crucial reason they have been pursuing the move.

Current ETV

Manuel Ugarte

M, DM (C)

PSG

Manuel Ugarte

M, DM (C)

PSG

ETV Range

€30.7M - €51.2M

Man City considered Berge transfer

Sander Berge was also an alternative in that position, as revealed by the Transfers Podcast, but has since moved to Fulham for an initial €20m plus €5m in bonuses.

Erik ten Hag was content for the Norwegian to be signed and it can now also be revealed that Manchester City considered Berge as a back-up to first-choice midfielder Rodri.

It was felt at the club that his style of play would suit Pep Guardiola and he also had some significant advocates in international teammate Erling Haaland and his former Burnley manager Vincent Kompany - a City club legend.

However the Premier League champions have instead sought a deal for Ilkay Gundogan, who will return to the champions at Barcelona.