Man Utd ‘very interested’ in £51m signing ‘very close to committing’ to Ratcliffe contract

Manchester United are ‘very interested’ in signing £51million-rated Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte, according to reports.

Ugarte only joined PSG from Portuguese club Sporting last summer after Luis Enrique’s side triggered the €60m (£51m) release clause in his contract.

Several Premier League clubs had been linked with the Uruguayan international but he made the move to the French capital.

The 23-year-old played 37 times for PSG in 2023/24 but only started five of their 12 Champions League matches and 21 times in Ligue 1.

It is clear that Enrique does not heavily depend on Ugarte and this has opened the door for a summer exit.

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Manchester United are believed to be very keen as the ex-Sporting man fits the bill for new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who only wants to sign players aged 25 or younger .

Signing a new defensive midfielder is also a top priority for Ratcliffe and United manager Erik ten Hag, who are open to letting Casemiro leave this summer.

Fabrizio Romano confirmed this week that the Red Devils’ interest in Ugarte is ‘genuine’ and reports in Uruguay have stated that the player ‘would love’ to play for the Premier League giants.

Man Utd ‘close to’ signing £51m PSG star

Now, reports coming from France state that Ugarte is expected to leave PSG this summer and Man Utd ‘would be very interested in his transfer’.

PSG are willing to sell the Uruguayan for what they paid after Enrique ‘internally’ informed him ‘that he is no longer counting on him’.

Man Utd are currently ‘the most interested club’ and Ugarte ‘is very close to committing to the Red Devils’.

His willingness to move to Manchester bodes well as Enrique ‘no longer wants Ugarte’.

A report from Uruguay also states:

‘He is close to United. Ugarte will not continue at PSG. Luis Enrique has already told him that he is not counting on him’

Ugarte is currently on international duty with Uruguay and has played the full 90 minutes in both of their Copa America games.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men have started the tournament very strongly, beating Panama 3-1 before demolishing Bolivia 5-0.

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is in fine form for his country, scoring two goals in as many appearances.

Next up for Uruguay is the United States, who will need to dramatically improve following their shock 2-1 defeat to Panama on Friday.

Timothy Weah’s 18th-minute red card gave the US a mountain to climb but they reacted well through Folarin Balogun’s opener four minutes later.

Panama equalised within four minutes and went on to win the game thanks to a Jose Fajardo goal seven minutes from time.

USA will need Panama to lose against Bolivia on matchday three if they fail to get anything from the match against Uruguay.

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