Paul Scholes pleads for Man Utd to sign Man City hero instead of Manuel Ugarte

Paul Scholes would like to see Manchester United make an audacious bid to sign Manchester City hero Ilkay Gundogan – raising huge concerns over the club’s proposed move for Manuel Ugarte.

United are believed to be close to wrapping up a deal to sign Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain in what would be their fifth signing of the summer.

The Uruguay international is expected to join the club on a permanent deal this summer for £51million or on loan with an obligation to buy next year.

A midfielder has been high on the club’s list of priorities all summer but Scholes is convinced they are targeting the wrong profile of player.

The United legend is desperate for his old side to bring in a ‘controlling player’ with ‘a brain’ – naming Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi as one option who fits that bill.

But Scholes would also love to see Gundogan switch over to the red half of Manchester – with the German thought to be close to returning to City after tearing up his contract at Barcelona.

‘Gundogan. I know it’s not going to happen but I think he’s the type of player Man United need,’ Scholes told The Overlap alongside Jamie Carragher.

‘A Zubimendi… or I’m going to say Gundogan. A controlling midfield player just to take the sting out of play. Gundogan is perfect for that.’

Scholes also revealed he is not convinced by Ugarte, questioning his ability on the ball and comparing him to Sofyan Amrabat who struggled during his loan spell at the club last season.

‘I have not seen too much of Ugarte, I saw him a couple of times last year,’ he continued. ‘I’m not sure technically if he’s good enough. He seems to be a bit more of an Amrabat. Maybe a little bit better.’

YouTuber and United fan Adam McKola pointed out the Uruguayan’s impressive tackling statistics during his time at PSG last season but Scholes was again not convinced.

‘We don’t need someone to go in and win tackles we need someone to come in and control a game of football so it is not up and down every two minutes.

‘We need someone with a brain. A football brain just to relax everything down. Tell Bruno [Fernandes] to keep the ball for five minutes, please!’