Manuel Ugarte left Paris Saint-Germain for Manchester United on the final day of the summer transfer window. Nonetheless, one expert believes the Uruguayan made sense for all three parties involved.
Ugarte didn’t quite fit into manager Luis Enrique’s plans for the midfield, so he’s moving on after just one season. Last season, he played 37 matches across all competitions for the reigning Ligue 1 champions and recorded three assists.
The 23-year-old had a solid start to the campaign, and it seemed like the club had found their midfield enforcer. However, his playing time dwindled in the second half, with Ugarte becoming more of a rotational player than a regular starter.
With the deadline in the final hours, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Johnson spoke about the transfer, noting that it’s a deal that should make everyone happy.
“He’s going to come in and potentially fill in and be the player that they needed Casimero to be,” Johnson said on the latest episode of PSG Talking. “His legs have suddenly deserted him, so he’s no longer able to be that. But there is still quite a bit of development that he needs to do. But I wouldn’t really rank this one as a failure on PSG’s part or an enormous success from Manchester United.
“To me, it’s a deal that makes sense. It doesn’t need to be overblown. And PSG fans need to remain realistic and lucid. Luis Enrique was never going to really rely on Ugarte.
“He had a decent start to life with PSG, which tailed off quite quickly. And simply the style of football that they were trying to foster under Luis Enrique was not a good match with Ugarte, so it made sense to sell him at this time. And of all the deals that got done this summer, I think it’s the one that made the most sense.”
On Sunday, Manchester United announced that Ugarte will be wearing the No. 25, which he already wears with the Uruguayan national team.
