Manchester United are in the transfer market for a new defensive midfielder and they have already identified their priority target.
The club have agreed personal terms with midfielder Manuel Ugarte, but they are yet to negotiate a suitable deal with Paris Saint-Germain.
The French champions are eyeing £59 million to part ways with the Uruguayan star, but United seem to prefer a loan deal with a buy clause.
In our opinion, there could be more room for negotiations in the coming days with Les Parisiens close to confirming the signing of Joao Neves.
The Ligue 1 holders finalised a player-plus-cash deal for the 19-year-old last night.
He will join them for £59 million while Renato Sanches will return to Benfica as part of the transfer.
This could pave the way for United to sign Ugarte for a discount. The 23-year-old was an unused substitute on 14 occasions last term.
The former Sporting man found himself behind Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Warren Zaire-Emery in the midfield pecking order in the final months of the season.
His situation is unlikely to improve with Neves’ arrival. The 19-year-old is most likely to become the regular from the defensive midfield role.
PSG will want to recoup the investment with a player exit and Ugarte seems the most viable choice, given his relatively young age and transfer value.
We believe United could capitalise on the situation to sign Ugarte for a discount. They could negotiate a deal in the region of £40-45m for his services.
With the budget being limited, we won’t be surprised if the club propose to sign him on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy next summer.
The ‘tireless‘ star would be a superb acquisition for United with his strong ball-playing ability.
He had a passing accuracy of 91 percent last season. He won an impressive 3.9 tackles and 6.4 duels per game alongside 7.2 ball recoveries and 1.6 interceptions.
Ugarte would be a proper upgrade on Casemiro, who has shown signs of regression. He would be a much better signing than alternatives such as Youssouf Fofana.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
