After Uruguay’s Copa América campaign ended, Manuel Ugarte found himself in a curious situation. Instead of rejoining Paris Saint-Germain for training, he was left on the sidelines, waiting to see if his transfer to Manchester United would go through.
Ugarte was absent from PSG’s bench for their first three Ligue 1 matches. The transfer between PSG and Manchester United was finalized on the last day of the summer transfer window.
With the transfer eventually going through, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag had to explain Ugarte’s arrival to Casemiro. Nonetheless, the Dutchman noted that any player who wants to play for the Red Devils understands that they’ll always be competition.
“I normally do talk to him and in this case I did as well but players in our club know you are playing at this level there is always competition, they also know you can only be successful if you have a squad that covers,” Ten Hag said (h/t Manchester Evening News).
“You can’t have a squad where you only have one player who can cover this – you need at least two for each position, sometimes it is three for two. That is okay when you have very robust players.
“All the players will understand – then it’s about what is the best fit for the team. They have to prove it, the key word, they have to take responsibility and win games for the club.”
Several reports suggest that PSG are set to receive a fixed fee of €50 million for Ugarte’s transfer to Manchester United, an additional €10 million in potential add-ons and a 10 percent sell-on clause.
The 23-year-old penned a contract until 2029 and played his first minutes on Saturday off the bench in the 3-0 victory over Southampton.
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