Julian Laurens provides Manuel Ugarte update with time running out for Manchester United

French football expert Julien Laurens has provided an update on Manuel Ugarte’s current situation, amid links to Manchester United with just two weeks remaining until transfer deadline day.

The ESPN reporter claims that the Reds are having second thoughts on whether they want to pay a high sum for a player who might not be considered a starter.

But that is based on Casemiro’s performance against Fulham. The veteran midfielder wasn’t a shadow of his former self last term and became a liability in the middle of the pitch for United.

Perhaps we’ll see Casemiro perform better this season, although cover at the very least is required because United don’t have another option to play in a defensive midfield role unless Kobbie Mainoo is sacrificed to a deeper role.

United have been tracking Ugarte all summer and he has been our primary midfield target since the transfer window opened. Furthermore, it is understood that the player is keen on joining United.

“United have had two offers rejected already, but they were quite a while ago,” Laurens said on ESPN FC on Friday. “In the last three weeks, it’s been a bit more quieter, maybe because if you look at the game [on Friday], we had a good Casimero, much better than anything that we saw last season, for example.

“It’s not the Casimero that we saw at Madrid two or three years ago, but it’s much better than what we saw… Would you go and spend 65 million or 60 million on Ugarte when Casimero is in this form? You need more bodies, that’s for sure, especially in that defensive midfield role.

“But spend all that money for somebody who might not be a starter in your team, that’s where I think that’s where Ugarte to United possibility is right now. I think they are pondering it because if [Kobbie] Mainoo and Casimiro can offer you a really good season, then the backup doesn’t have to be worth 65 million.”

This means United may consider other midfield options such as Burnley’s Sander Berge…

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