Rumour Mongering: Manuel Ugarte’s Agent Name Drops Liverpool as United Step Up Pursuit

PSG defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte was briefly linked with Liverpool before switching from Sporting CP to Paris for £51.1m early last summer. His debut season with the Parisians saw him in and out of the lineup, with Luis Enrique seemingly preferring other options in midfield ahead of him. Manchester United reportedly made an initial bid of £25m for the destroyer, which was rejected by PSG.

In light of all the speculation over the player’s future, his agent, Jorge Chijane, addressed the rumours. Speaking to O Jogo, he said:

“Liverpool? There is a lot of talk, but it is not the only club, there are others.”

“There is much talk, but I am still not sure about the club. There are many possibilities on the table,” he continued, as he strongly hinted that he is set for the Parc des Princes exit door. “It’s almost certain that he won’t stay, it’s sure he’ll leave. I believe the situation will be resolved.”

I liked Ugarte’s engine and his potential fit as a Fabinho replacement last year when those links were first brought up, but given that Liverpool hardly put up a fight when that deal with PSG was being concluded, one wonders if they were really interested at all. The Reds are said to be interested in getting a defensive midfielder in but are waiting for top-tier options to become available in a market scarce of them. Perhaps Ugarte, with a slight discount off last year’s fee, could spark them into action.