Manuel Ugarte's Old Trafford struggles open the door for a Serie A move, as Juventus express their interest in signing the midfielder.
Since joining Manchester United from PSG in 2024, Manuel Ugarte has failed to adapt to life in the Premier League, and his time in Manchester already looks set to be coming to a close, with the 24-year-old set to be among the players that the club will aim to move on in the summer.
Signed by Erik ten Hag for £43 million, the Uruguayan had a mixed start to life in the Premier League, despite performing well at his previous clubs in PSG and Sporting Lisbon.
However, when Rúben Amorim took charge in November 2024, fans were expecting Ugarte to enjoy a significant upturn in form, with the pair having worked together at Sporting to much success.
Having featured fairly consistently under Amorim for the remainder of the 2024/25 season, this season saw the Uruguayan be used more as a bench option, picking up much fewer minutes.
Since Michael Carrick took over as head coach in January, that has remained the case, with the midfield pairing of Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro being his clear preference in the middle of the park.
Juventus register interest in Ugarte
Despite being linked with a move to Turkey in January, nothing came to fruition, and he has since picked up just 56 minutes in the league since the closure of the January transfer window.
As United look to conduct a major summer clearout ahead of significant midfield signings in the summer, the 24-year-old looks set to be on the chopping block
Previous reports have suggested that, as United do not want to make a book loss on the player, they would be willing to accept bids of around £35 million.
Despite most of the interest for Ugarte coming from Turkey, Serie A giants Juventus have identified the midfielder as a transfer target this summer, as reported by Juvefc.com
Despite showing long-term interest in the now Marseille midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, the Danish midfielder has fallen down their pecking order after his declining performances this season.
The Turin side have identified Ugarte, who is six years younger than Højbjerg, as the right target to turn their attention to, and believe that the Uruguayan can once again find the form he displayed at Sporting.
How many Man Utd players could see the exit door this summer?
Manchester United are reportedly looking to sign at least two midfielders this summer, as well as Michael Carrick stating that depth on the left wing is needed.
With INEOS looking to continue their transfer policy of signing players with Premier League experience, names such as Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães have all been linked with moves to Old Trafford in the summer.
As seen by the previous signing of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, a significant fee will be needed to sign any of these players, and a significant number of sales will be needed to help fund United's midfield rebuild.
United could see a significant number of players leave Old Trafford this summer. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Rasmus Højlund, who are all out on loan, are expected to be sold in the summer, while Joshua Zirkzee, Andre Onana, Ugarte, could all be moved on in the summer.
While looking very unlikely, Bruno Fernandes could be sold this summer, with interest from Saudi Arabia persisting since turning down a transfer there last summer.