Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte is personally open to joining Manchester United this summer, according to Sunday Mirror (page 79).
The Red Devils are determined to sign a new defensive midfielder. They were initially interested in West Ham United’s Edson Alvarez before he picked up a hamstring injury at the Copa America.
Ugarte has now emerged as the ‘top pick’ to replace Casemiro and the club have already held two round of talks with PSG for the ‘combative‘ midfielder.
The Red Devils are yet to make an official bid on the table for the 23-year-old, but he is ‘personally open’ to joining the club during the transfer window.
Casemiro has been a robust presence from the number six role, but he has shown signs of regression over the past year with his poor positioning.
The club appear unlikely to offload him due to his huge pay-off demands, but they still require a quality signing, who could displace him in the starting XI.
Sofyan Amrabat was able to do so in the FA Cup final last month, but the Red Devils need a young holding midfielder with the room to develop.
Ugarte would be an ideal acquisition. The Uruguayan is only 23 years old and he is currently one of the best in his position with superb passing skills.
The former Sporting man had a passing accuracy of 91 percent last term. He won a stunning 6.4 duels per game alongside 7.2 recoveries and 3.9 tackles.
PSG signed him for £51.1 million from Sporting last summer and they could demand a similar price to sanction his sale due to his age and potential.
Stats from Sofascore.com
