
Manchester United
Premier League • England
Signing No 5 to ’empty’ Man Utd kitty as full truth emerges on double Chelsea raid, Ivan Toney links

Raheem Sterling, Ivan Toney and Ben Chilwell have all been linked with Manchester United
Manchester United are on the cusp of signing Manuel Ugarte from PSG in a move worth an intial £50m and suggestions they could further add to their squad amid links to two Chelsea players and Brentford striker Ivan Toney have revealed some stark truths.
United have attacked the summer window with real vigour as Sir Jim Ratclifffe looks to steer the Red Devils back into a position of force at both home and in Europe. They have made four signings so far to the combined tune of £140m with Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui all adding much-needed quality for Erik ten Hag and the Manchester United squad.
But with United already suffering defeat this season – going down 2-1 to Brighton at the Amex in a match that served as a reminder to their vulnerabilities – it is quite clear that much more is needed if they are going to match the very best on a consistent basis over the duration of a long and arduous season.
To that end, sporting director Dan Ashworth will soon wrap up signing number five of a busy summer at Old Trafford. That’s after the Red Devils sent a delegation to Paris on Monday evening to tie up the formalties with PSG over the transfer of Uruguayan destroyer Ugarte
With technical director Jason Wilcox and Matt Hargreaves, the club’s director of player negotiations, present, United have signed off on a deal that guarantees the Ligue 1 giants a fixed fee of €50m (£42.3m) plus €10m (£8.4m) in add-ons.
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Ugarte travelled by private jet to the north-west on Tuesday evening and has been put through his medical tests on Wednesday. If all goes to plan, United will unveil him as their fifth signing of the summer potentially as quickly as Wednesday evening.
Man Utd transfers: Ugarte to sign, Chelsea pair linked
The 23-year-old midfielder, who agreed personal terms with United some weeks ago but has had to sit patiently while the clubs came to an agreement on his transefr, is expected to sign a minimum four-year deal at Old Trafford, with United, of course, adding in that customary additional year.
Since concluding the signing of both De Ligt and Mazraoui from Bayern, United have been forced to operate on something of a one-in, one-out basis, in order to keep in line with the Premier League’s strict Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
As a result, they have only been able to sanction the signing of Ugarte after striking a deal with Napoli over the sale of midfielder Scott McTominay.
The Scotland international’s impending exit – for a fixed fee of €30m (£25.2m) – has given United the platform on which to strike their own deal for Ugarte.
Beyond that, though, it seems unlikely United will be able to sanction any more signings of their own, barring a major sale in the mean time and given the club’s sensible ‘one in, one out’ policy.
To that end, United have been linked with a few other late deals in the transfer window to follow up on the capture of Ugarte, with Toney the latest player linked with a move to Old Trafford on Wednesday.
United do have a long-standing interest in the player and reports have suggested they have held talks with Brentford over a prospective late deal for the six-times capped England striker.
Truths emerge over links to Sterling, Toney and Chilwell
At the same time, United have also been strongly linked with a move for Chelsea pair Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling; both of whom are available for transfer and free to leave this summer for the right price.
However, according to journalist Mike Keegan, writing on X, he claims the deal for Ugarte will ’empty United’s kitty’ and any links beyond that are being used to help drum up interest in said players.
He posted: “Believe Manchester United’s kitty is pretty much empty after Manuel Ugarte. There’s a view the club’s name is being used in an attempt to smoke out bidders for Ivan Toney, Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling. It is that time of the window…”
United’s reported interest in Sterling stemmed from the club’s desire to move along Jadon Sancho, with the prospect of a possible swap deal being floated between the two clubs.
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However, while talks did indeed take place between the clubs, Sancho is now understood to have been given the green light over a move to Juventus, with the winger set to sign on a season’s loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent in 2025.
That move – and the fact it is a loan deal in the first instance only – will effectively end any faint hopes United had of bringing Sterling to Old Trafford as part of a deal.
And with the Red Devils having little to no wriggle room on bringing in another new player, their chances of bringing in either Chilwell or Sterling in exchange for Sancho look to be over.