Manuel Ugarte looks destined to leave Manchester United this summer after two poor years since joining the club from Paris Saint-Germain
When Manchester United signed Manuel Ugarte, some fans were excited by the prospect of a £50 million midfielder joining from Paris Saint-Germain to support Casemiro, but other fans were much more sceptical. Two years on, you would have to say the latter were correct.
Ugarte never looked at home under Erik ten Hag, so when Rúben Amorim joined the club, excitement was restored, as Amorim was the man to get the best out of Ugarte at Sporting CP, leading to his sale to PSG. At Old Trafford, though, that was not really the case.
Even with Casemiro struggling as much as he was, Ugarte failed to massively outperform the Brazilian and has been his understudy for much of his career in red. In truth, Ugarte's best stint at United came when he partnered Casemiro in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 shape.
Darren Fletcher seemed to be a fan of the Uruguay international, as he started both games under the interim head coach. His performance against Burnley in the Premier League led many to believe Michael Carrick would keep him in the side for his first game against Manchester City, but Carrick chose to go with Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo.
Since the Manchester derby, Casemiro and Mainoo have been brilliant in central midfield, despite the latter not starting a Premier League match in 2025/26 until Carrick had arrived at the club.
Newcastle's Ugarte interest confirmed
Ugarte has been linked with several clubs since the end of the January transfer window, with Newcastle United coming up again and again, although a recent report suggested he could be forced to stay at Old Trafford.
Now, though, Football Insider have reported that Newcastle United are long-term admirers of Ugarte, and could be set to make a move this summer, to avoid missing out on their target.
Speaking on the Transfer Insider Podcast, transfer specialist Pete O'Rourke said: "I think they (Newcastle) have had a long-term interest in Ugarte.
"They looked at him when he was at Sporting Lisbon, but the last couple of moves haven’t worked out for Ugarte. First of all at PSG, and now at Man United, he has been a bit underwhelming.
"He’s fallen out of favour this season under Michael Carrick. He’s started just seven games in the Premier League, so he’s struggled to have the desired impact that many expected."
If Newcastle United do not act quickly, then they could be forced to look for other options, with Bruno Guimarães and Sandro Tonali looking as if they could leave the club.
Could Ugarte be used in Tonali or Guimarâes deal?
Manchester United are known to be admirers of Newcastle's Bruno Guimarães and Sandro Tonali, although Elliot Anderson seems to be the main focus, with fresh talks held last week, as confirmed by Roundtable.
Manchester City seem to be the favourite to sign the Nottingham Forest midfielder this summer, so United may be forced to look for other options to replace Casemiro and Ugarte.
If Ugarte is already moving to Newcastle, United may look to bargain for a lower price, if that would convince Newcastle to drop their asking price tag for either of their central midfielders. Traditional swap deals appear to have fallen by the wayside, but this could be a makeshift option.
Ugarte's exit could force United to look for three central midfielders this summer: Casemiro's replacement, Ugarte's replacement, and a backup option for Kobbie Mainoo - as he is the only box-to-box option at the club currently.