Man Utd put ‘struggling’ £50m player up for sale ahead of January transfer window

Man Utd put ‘struggling’ £50m player up for sale ahead of January transfer window Liam Grace Published December 2, 2025 5:40pm Updated December 2, 2025 6:01pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim recently urged Manuel Ugarte to improve in training (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United have put ‘struggling’ £50m midfielder Manuel Ugarte up for sale ahead of the January transfer window, according to reports.

Ugarte has struggled for game time this season and has only started two Premier League matches for United under head coach Ruben Amorim.

United paid French side Paris Saint-Germain an initial fee of £42.2m, which could rise to £50.7m with add-ons, to sign Ugarte in August 2024.

The 24-year-old signed a five-year contract with an option for a year extension, keeping him at Old Trafford until at least the summer of 2029.

But ESPN now reports that United ‘will listen to offers’ for Ugarte next month, along with Kobbie Mainoo, Joshua Zirkzee and Tyrell Malacia.

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It is understood that United could make a move for a key midfield target if the club’s hierarchy can ‘unlock some funds’ by selling those players.

United are said to be monitoring Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller.

Man Utd ‘will listen to offers’ for Manuel Ugarte next month (Picture: Getty)

Amorim: Ugarte needs to improve in training

Speaking last month, United boss Amorim admitted that Ugarte needed to make improvements in training and that the Uruguayan was ‘struggling’.

‘You are here longer than me and you can sense that a lot of very good players come here and sometimes they struggle,’ Amorim said.

Manuel Ugarte has started two top-flight games this term (Picture: AFP via Getty)

‘He is struggling at the moment, but it is our job to try to help our players and again, everything can change.

‘You saw it five weeks ago, the environment was completely different, so I know that Ugarte is struggling in the moment, and my job is trying to help him to feel as a player, like I felt when he was a Sporting player, for example.

‘But it is a different world and he needs to adapt and he needs to improve, especially in training.’

Burley: Ugarte is a £50m ‘wet blanket’

In September, former Chelsea and Scotland midfielder Craig Burley branded Ugarte a ‘wet blanket’.

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‘Manuel Ugarte is just absolutely nothing,’ he said on ESPN. ‘He’s just like a wet blanket.

‘Put him in with the kids and even the kids would be going, “who the hell is this guy?” Seriously.’

Ugarte has played 55 games for the Red Devils to date across all competitions.

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