Exclusive: Man United could be smart and wait to secure midfielder transfer on the cheap, says expert

Manchester United could be smart and wait to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte at a slightly later date this summer, according to French football expert Jonathan Johnson.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Johnson explained that now could be a good time for PSG to cash in on Ugarte amid interest from Man Utd, as the Uruguay international is currently performing well for his country at this summer’s Copa America tournament.

Ugarte is not really in the long-term plans of PSG manager Luis Enrique, however, as he doesn’t fit his preferred style of play, so Johnson could see the 23-year-old’s asking price going down again once the club season gets going and he’s back to not playing regularly at the Parc des Princes.

Ugarte transfer: Should Man United wait this one out or risk over-paying now?

This is not an easy decision for United, who might be prepared to risk waiting for Ugarte, or perhaps favour an earlier move so they can get their summer business out of the way before pre-season gets going.

Erik ten Hag will surely be keen to have a settled squad by August, but he won’t be the only one in charge and that could mean some key figures inside Old Trafford prefer to hold out a bit longer for a cheaper opportunity to bring Ugarte in.

“Ugarte to United seems to have gathered pace quite significantly and it’s not too surprising. I think Ugarte is tailor-made for the Premier League and I think the drop-off from Casemiro in the season just gone means it’s normal United would be looking for a profile like that to replace him,” Johnson said.

“It’s also a good time for PSG to sell Ugarte because he’s in good form for the Uruguay national team at Copa America, so the fact that he’s performing well at an international tournament means his value won’t drop as drastically as it may have done as he’s not been that important at club level in the second half of last season. So it makes sense for PSG, United, and for the player.”

He added: “It’s a critical moment as well because if this drags on and Ugarte finds himself out of favour with Enrique at the start of the new season with PSG, it will become that much harder for them to command the kind of fee they’ll want, and perhaps even half what they paid for him 12 months ago. If he goes now, PSG won’t make as much of a loss.”