“I made Pep Gaurdiorla cried after hijacking his top transfer, he called me and was crying… It’s not easy to do that, all the new players know what we’re building but our fans are impatient”: Erik ten Hag names three midfielders Man United has agreed to sign this week which almost made Pep Gaurdiorla cried so hard
Manchester United have agreed three midfield transfers in the final week of the summer window.
A deal is in place to bring Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte to the club, while they have also agreed packages for the sale of both Scott McTominay and Hannibal Mejbri.
United will pay an initial €50 million (£42.29m) fee for PSG star Ugarte, with a further €10m (£8.46m) in additional payments. It is understood the French giants will retain a 10% sell-on clause of their own and the Uruguayan could even fly to Manchester on Tuesday for his medical, with the club confident of completing his deal before Friday’s deadline. He could make his debut when they face Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend.
United believe their patient approach has paid off in their pursuit of Ugarte, who was identified as their top midfield target early in the window. The club view him as one of the best youngsters in world football but are confident he still has his best years ahead of him as well.
The deal to sign Ugarte will be partly financed by the sale of Scott McTominay after they agreed a deal to sell him to Napoli for an initial fee of roughly £25m, as well as a 10% sell-on clause. While Erik ten Hag would liked to have kept him at the club, it was decided the offer was too good to turn down for a player who is only a squad option at best.
United could not guarantee McTominay the starting role he wanted to occupy and it was hard to ignore the counter-productive PSR rules which make it beneficial to sell academy graduates as they count as pure profit from a financial point of view.
The financial situation will also be improved by the sale of Hannibal Mejbri to Burnley. It is understood the Championship side could pay as much as £9.5 million for his signature, as well as a significant sell-on clause.
Following the midfield revamp, United will work on the sale of Jadon Sancho, while Victor Lindelof could also leave the club before deadline day.
Juventus are leading the race to sign Sancho, but his huge wages continue to be an issue and might limit them to an initial loan deal for the forward. United believe they have significantly strengthened their squad this summer and have addressed all priority positions, but they will remain open to any further additions that might present themselves before deadline day.
