There is reportedly a growing confidence that Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain will reach an agreement over the transfer of Manuel Ugarte at some point this summer.
This is despite the fact that Man Utd and PSG still remain some way apart in their valuation of the Uruguay international at the moment, according to a report from Football Transfers.
Ugarte has not been entirely convincing since joining PSG, even though he impressed at his former club Sporting Lisbon, and it perhaps makes sense that Luis Enrique is now ready to let him leave the Parc des Princes after just one season.
United surely need a defensive midfielder of this type, with Casemiro to Saudi Arabia looking increasingly likely after his loss of form at Old Trafford last season, and the report from Football Transfers notes that they see Ugarte as an ideal long-term partner to complement Kobbie Mainoo.
Sofyan Amrabat’s loan from Fiorentina has also come to an end, and it remains to be seen if the Morocco international will be returning to the club.
Ugarte transfer: How much will Man United end up paying for the PSG midfielder?
According to Football Transfers, PSG are holding out for €70m for Ugarte, though the report goes on to say that their understanding is that a lower fee is expected to eventually be agreed later on in this transfer window.
Speaking to CaughtOffside recently, Fabrizio Romano also provided us with some insight into how the Ugarte negotiations are going, with a constant dialogue seeming to be in place to try to eventually reach a breakthrough.
“For Ugarte, they remain in conversations with Paris Saint-Germain, while they have an agreement with the player,” Romano said. “I’m hearing there are contacts ongoing between Man United and PSG since June, not official bids accepted or rejected – it’s a constant dialogue between the clubs.
“Ugarte remains on Man United’s list and he said yes last week, so now it depends on Manchester United. But as I previously said, it was always going to take some days to decide after they spent big money on Leny Yoro.”