Man Utd target ‘one step’ away from completing Old Trafford move

Manuel Ugarte’s transfer to Manchester United appears very much alive, with PSG leaving the Uruguay midfielder out of their squad to face Le Havre in their Ligue 1 opener.

Ugarte has been linked with a move to the Red Devils for several weeks, but while the South American appears keen to make the jump to Old Trafford, Man Utd have been unable to agree terms on a transfer with PSG.

The Ligue 1 champions are holding out for the €60 million they paid Sporting CP for the 23-year-old last summer, but United are offering only around half that figure for a player who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €41.1m.

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There has been a positive development for Man Utd, though. Ugarte has been left out of PSG’s squad for the season-opening match in Le Havre, with head coach Luis Enrique electing not to have the midfielder in a 21-man squad that was named on Friday.

With Ugarte frozen out – even on a temporary basis – it fuels the prospect of a move.

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Ugarte to Man Utd on a five-year deal

Ugarte is close to securing a contract with Man Utd that will run for five years, according to transfer news specialist Nicolo Schira.

He took to Twitter to report: “Manuel Ugarte is one step away from Manchester United. He has agreed personal terms with Man Utd for a contract until 2029.”

Ugarte is a ball-winning monster in the midfield but he has fallen out of favour with Luis Enrique at PSG because of a lack of technical quality in his play.

He is liable to become Man Utd’s fifth major summer signing, with deals already concluded for Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Hicham Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt.

Indeed, Jorge Mendes, the agent who was influential in the Yoro deal, is also said to be driving Ugarte to Man Utd.