Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd conquer Barcelona, PSG with stunning coup, as Fabrizio Romano drops updates on Ugarte, Ederson transfers
A recent Manchester United coup is even more spectacular than first thought, while Fabrizio Romano has revealed the truth on the club’s pursuits of Manuel Ugarte and Ederson Silva.
Man Utd have completed four major signings this summer – Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs De Ligt, Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee.
Yoro unfortunately suffered a fractured metatarsal in pre-season. It later emerged an issue with Yoro’s metatarsal was detected during his medical, though Man Utd proceeded with the move anyway.
Mazraoui got the nod to start for the Red Devils in the 1-0 victory over Fulham last Friday. De Ligt and Zirkzee appeared off the bench, with Zirkzee scoring the vital winning goal in the 87th minute.
The Yoro coup was a spectacular one for Man Utd given the club convinced the player to abandon his dreams of signing for Real Madrid in favour of moving to England.
According to a fresh update from the Athletic, De Ligt’s signing was just as impressive.
They stated European giants PSG and Barcelona both wanted to sign the Dutch defender and both clubs made contact with the player’s representatives.
However, in a huge feather in Erik ten Hag’s cap, De Ligt only had eyes for Man Utd thanks in large part to the presence of the Dutch boss.
Ten Hag previously managed De Ligt during their Ajax days. Per the report, De Ligt’s close relationship with Ten Hag put Man Utd in the position of favourites and the club’s recruitment team – headed by Dan Ashworth – did the rest.
De Ligt would go on to sign a five-year deal with a club option for a sixth season. The guaranteed portion (€45m) of the €50m package Man Utd committed to will be paid to Bayern Munich in instalments over a three-year period.
Updates on Manuel Ugarte, Ederson Silva transfers
Elsewhere, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has clarified the latest on Man Utd’s attempts to sign a new midfielder.
Manuel Ugarte remains the club’s No 1 option to partner Kobbie Mainoo in the engine room. However, surprise reports out of Italy over the last 24 hours claimed Man Utd had bid €50m for Atalanta’s Brazilian international midfielder, Ederson Silva.
But per Romano, claims Man Utd have put money on the table for Ederson are simply not true.
Instead, Man Utd are pressing ahead with the signing of Ugarte and an agreement with PSG is imminent.
Taking to X, Romano stated: “Manchester United are now close to getting Manuel Ugarte deal done!
“As revealed last week, Man Utd want to proceed with loan plus obligation to buy and meeting with PSG was positive.
“No bids for Ederson — Man Utd want Ugarte, details being discussed. Deal at final stages.”
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PSG have thus far held firm on their €60m/£51m asking price. But given Man Utd can offset paying the fee until 2025, the expectation is Man Utd will meet the full asking price in the obligation.
Once a club-to-club agreement is thrashed out, a medical will be the next step. Ugarte agreed personal terms with Man Utd on a five-year contract with a club option for a sixth season well over a month ago.