Manchester United agree £50m deal for Ugarte

Manchester United are closing in on their fifth summer signing after agreeing a £50million deal with Paris Saint-Germain for Manuel Ugarte.
The 23-year-old midfielder is expected to fly to Manchester on Tuesday to undertake a medical and, if all goes to plan, will officially become a United player in the coming days.
Ugarte has already agreed personal terms with United, who will pay PSG an initial fee of £42.3million for the Uruguay international and a further £8.5million in performance-related add-ons.
It comes as Scott McTominay approaches a switch to Napoli. At the weekend United accepted an offer worth £25.4million for the 27-year-old Scotland midfielder, who has one year left on his contract.
United have said all summer they are not pushing McTominay out of the club but Ugarte’s impending arrival means the academy graduate is likely to play less this season, and Napoli are confident they will sign him. The Italian club believe he could travel to Naples for his medical as soon as Tuesday.
McTominay, who was the subject of interest from Fulham and Galatasaray, has come on as a substitute in both of United’s Premier League matches so far this season.
United have been chasing Ugarte all summer, and should his transfer go through, it will be a big boost for Erik ten Hag. The United manager has spoken regularly about the need to have two players for every position in his squad, but until now Casemiro has been the only out-and-out holding midfielder.
The 32-year-old Brazilian enjoyed a strong first campaign at United after his £70million move from Real Madrid in 2022, but struggled last season. The midfielder, who has two years left on his contract, also missed 17 matches through injury.
Ugarte will challenge him for a place at the base of the United midfield. The Montevideo-born player spent two years at Sporting before joining PSG in a £50million deal last summer. The French club have successfully argued for a 10 per cent sell-on clause to be inserted into the deal.
Ugarte could not hold down a place in PSG’s first-choice XI last season, starting only 26 of the team’s 53 matches. Nonetheless, United have seen enough to push hard for his signature. The club’s scouts rated Ugarte as one of the best young midfielders in the game and he was chosen in the team of the tournament in the Copa América this summer.
United have already spent more than £150million on the signings of Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in this window as Ten Hag looks to improve on last year’s eighth-place finish.