Manchester City have lodged a concrete offer for Manchester United target Manuel Ugarte

Manchester City have lodged a concrete offer for Manchester United target Manuel Ugarte

Manchester United have been stunned after lodging their latest offer for Manuel Ugarte, as Manchester City and another giant club have reportedly made ‘concrete moves’ for him.

 

United have the chance to bounce back from their worst-ever Premier League finish (eighth) in a big way this summer. It’s their first under new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and his ambition is evident.

 

Moves for big names such as Jarrad Branthwaite, Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee are all in the works.

 

If they all come to fruition, it’ll see both the front and back lines improved upon, and it would be difficult to suggest there’s an area which could not do with a touch up after the woeful league performance last term.

 

 

The midfield is included in that, especially given Casemiro looked out of place at the back end of the season, and could well be playing somewhere other than Old Trafford by the start of the next campaign.

 

The main option to take over from the Brazilian seems to be Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Ugarte, who’ll be available for a reported £51million.

 

Yet they could be stunned by two more huge sides, including their local rivals City, after their lowball offer.

 

Man City make ‘concrete move’ for Ugarte

According to reports in France, after United’s offer, City have made one of their own.

 

 

It’s said Pep Guardiola’s side have made a ‘concrete move’ for the midfielder of late.

 

It’s not revealed what finances were involved in that. It is, however, stated that Barcelona have also made a move for Ugarte.

 

With two more huge sides in the mix, United will be wary they may have to do more to ensure they can secure the services of the Uruguayan.

 

Luis Enrique to have final say

 

And the decision on which of those sides the midfielder moves to, or if he moves at all, will come down to PSG coach Luis Enrique.

 

The manager has had Ugarte at the club for a year, but the 23-year-old has struggled to make it into the side consistently, starting just 21 Ligue 1 games.

 

As such, Enrique might well decide to let the midfielder go.

 

But which side manages to secure his services remains to be seen.Phil Foden of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg match between Manchester City and Real Madrid CF at Etihad …

Manchester City’s Phil Foden was one of the standout players in the Premier League last season.

In his latest top-flight campaign with Pep Guardiola’s side, the Englishman scored 19 goals and provided eight assists in 35 league appearances.

Having helped his side win their fourth league trophy in a row, the 24-year-old was named the Premier League Player of the Season and earned himself a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the 2024 European Championship.

Despite all of that, the six-time Premier League champion has now suggested that there is another player in Manchester who is better than him.

Phil Foden of Manchester City (facing) and Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes and Sofyan Amrabat of Manchester United battle for the ball during the …
Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Phil Foden picks Man United star over himself

Appearing in a recent video shared on the talkSPORT TikTok channel, Foden was involved in a winner-stays-on challenge where he had to pick between certain past and present midfielders based on who he thinks is better.

The first option saw the City star had to pick between himself and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, eventually going for the Portuguese international.

Foden vs Fernandes
Even though Fernandes played more minutes than him in the Premier League in the previous campaign, Foden, who Martin Keown said back in May took his game to a new level last season, still managed to score more goals (19 vs 10) than the Red Devils star.

In addition to that, the Englishman made more goal-creating actions (21 vs 19), successful take-ons (47 vs 19) and carries into the penalty area (56 vs 23) than Fernandes, as well as making fewer errors that led to an opponent having a shot on goal (2 vs 1).

Foden’s overall league performances earned him a season rating of 7.55/10 from WhoScored, which is higher than the 7.39/10 rating that Fernandes was given.

With all of that in mind, we think that it may be due to his humble nature that has made the City star pick Fernandes over himself in this instance.

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