FC Barcelona interested in Manchester United target Manuel Ugarte | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are keen on signing Manchester United target Manuel Ugarte.

The Red Devils have been busy so far in this transfer window and are currently in active negotiations with numerous players including Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro and Jarrad Branthwaite.

United also hope to strengthen their midfield department as the future of players like Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay and Sofyan Amrabat are still undecided.

One midfielder who has been heavily linked to a move to Manchester is Uruguay international Manuel Ugarte and reports last night stated that United and Paris Saint-Germain are edging closer to agreeing a deal for the player.

Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo report that “one of FC Barcelona’s priorities in this transfer market is the arrival of a midfielder” and Ugarte could be a potential option.

Nonetheless, in a familiar story these days, the paper is unsure whether or not La Liga giants can afford to get involved in the bidding.

“It seems difficult for Barça to enter the bid for Ugarte. PSG paid 60 million euros for the player last summer to sign him from Sporting CP and if the French let the midfielder go it would be for a higher amount.”

Other reports have suggested that it may not take as much as this to sign the player as it has been reported elsewhere that United have already made a bid in and around €45 million for the defensive midfielder.

Nonetheless, the point stands that these sort of figures seem beyond Barca until they can sell one of their lucrative stars like Ronaldo Araujo or Raphinha.

To add more layers of complexity, it has been suggested in the Portuguese press that United’s pursuit of Ugarte may in fact aid Paris Saint-Germain in the pursuit of another midfield target the Red Devils’ covet.

O Jogo report that neither United or Paris Saint-Germain have been willing to meet Benfica’s demands of €120 million for Joao Neves but “the sale of Ugarte (to United) could reinforce their (PSG) availability to make a large offer”.

Interestingly it also stated that Benfica realise that they may need to sell Neves due to “the devaluation of central defender António Silva” and the lack of interest in him around Europe which they had previously banked on to raise funds.

Therefore, as Águias may need to re-think their previous position on Neves and sell for a lower price, which could give United quite the dilemma on whether to continue to pursue Ugarte or go all out for their primary target Neves, who they have reportedly already bid €70 million for.

The paper also mentions that fellow Premier League side Manchester City and in fact Liverpool were “added to this list of interested parties” in Neves, which once more, could force United to consider keeping the talented teenager out of the hands of their arch rivals.

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