Man Utd now want to sign £67m star instead of Manuel Ugarte - report
Manchester United are in the transfer market for a new defensive midfielder and are evaluating their possible options.
The Red Devils recently agreed personal terms with Manuel Ugarte over a potential transfer, but Paris Saint-Germain are playing hardball in negotiations.
The French champions want at least £59 million for the former Sporting Cp man and they seem reluctant to negotiate on the price.
Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana has been mentioned as an alternative in the last few days and O Jogo claims that Morten Hjulmand is also on the club’s radar.
Hjulmand, who was signed as a replacement for Ugarte at Sporting last summer, has a release clause worth £67m in his contract.
Ugarte’s agent putting pressure on PSG with Hjulmand link
Hjulmand joined Sporting from Lecce last summer. He played almost every game in the number six role. He contributed four goals and four assists from 48 games.
The 25-year-old had a passing accuracy of 87 percent with four duels won per game. He also registered two tackles and 5.1 recoveries on average for the Lisbon giants.
The midfielder could be signed for a lower fee than his release clause, considering Sporting may need a big-money sale this summer to balance their books.
However, the speculation could be agent-driven. Ugarte’s super-agent Jorge Mendes is probably trying to pressure PSG with the transfer link.
Les Parisiens are presently in talks to sign Benfica wonderkid Joao Neves and need to sell Ugarte to make space for the highly-rated Portuguese star.
If Neves makes the switch, the French champions are most likely to lower their demands. Ugarte would be a much better signing for United than Hjulmand.
The 23-year-old completed 91 percent of his passes last term with an average of 3.9 tackles, 7.2 recoveries and 6.4 duels won. He would be perfect for the defensive midfield role.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com.