According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United are still prioritising a move for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte this summer.
The Red Devils have so far signed Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro and they are expected to land the signature of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in the near future.
The club’s next priority could be a new midfielder and Romano has revealed that Ugarte is the top target. However, the club don’t want to pay crazy money for the Uruguayan.
The reputed journalist added that one of Scott McTominay or Casemiro could be sold to finance the deal.
He said in his Daily Briefing column: “United also remain busy in the search for a new midfielder – they spoke with the agents of Sander Berge and have considered other options, but their top target remains Manuel Ugarte.”
“PSG will have to drop their price as United will not pay crazy money, otherwise they could also sell one player in that position, it could be Scott McTominay or Casemiro, we will see, but they will likely need a sale in order to finance the deal.”
Possible deal
United have largely focused on bolstering their defence and the focus could now turn to their midfield. Casemiro had a solid outing against Manchester City in the Community Shield yesterday, but there are concerns over his consistency at the current phase of his career.
The 32-year-old has the tendency to lose possession at regular intervals while his distribution is far from the best. Ugarte would be an upgrade in that department. Ugarte completed 91% of his passes in the French top-flight last term, losing possession on less than 8 times per game.
At 23, the ‘tireless‘ star is just entering the prime of his career and would be a superb addition to the United ranks. United are obviously unwilling to pay the £60 million asking price set by Paris Saint-Germain and a deal could depend on the French champions lowering their valuation this month.
That could definitely happen, considering they have just signed Joao Neves from Benfica with a huge outlay. Ugarte was a regular on the bench in the 2nd half of last season and his minutes could reduce further with Neves’ arrival. It makes sense for PSG to accept a lower fee for his sale.
