Manchester United are impressing fans and rivals alike with their moves in the 2024/25 summer transfer window after news broke that they have completed the signing of Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain.
The jury is still out on the player thanks to a below-par showing at Parc De Princes, but United under Erik ten Hag have chased the player for so long which has blinded them to these criticisms.
British media reports that United will pay €50 million to PSG for the Uruguay international, with another €10 million in bonuses as different milestones are reached. Both parties are yet to make it official but a cryptic post from the player himself suggests that the deal is all but done.
Ugarte will become United’s fifth summer signing after Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. This is the most business that the Red Devils have done in a single window before deadline day in over half a decade.
Ugarte’s arrival has given United the confidence to let go of home-grown 27-year-old Scott McTominay, who is set to join Napoli for £25 million.
The Scotsman has been with the club since 2002 when he was five years old and officially made his first team debut in 2017. He has since racked up 179 league appearances as a squad player and scored 18 goals. The midfielder enjoyed his most prominent season in 2023/24, when he scored seven league goals and 10 in all competitions, many of which were clutch goals that took United out of sticky situations.
Ugarte is already in England for his medicals but it has not stopped United from pursuing other transfers.
The latest in the pipeline is Raheem Sterling, who has been declared surplus to requirements at Chelsea and had his squad number stripped from him. The Blues are willing to swap him for Jadon Sancho and United are keen on the deal.
The problem would be Sterling’s weekly wages which are set at £325,000. United are trying to operate within the stricter PSR rules of the Premier League and signing Sterling on those wages will spell problems for them. He will also automatically become their highest-paid player, which may not sit well with a few, especially captain Bruno Fernandes, who was only recently bumped up to £300,000 weekly.
There are only two days left to the end of the transfer window and United could still complete more business. The rest will be up to ten Hag, who is on his last legs at the club following poor performances in the past few games.
