Man Utd now have a big problem with £50m midfielder – top source

Manchester United are facing a problem in getting rid of Manuel Ugarte, according to a report, as Red Devils manager Michael Carrick reflects on the club’s summer transfer activity.

Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans were the three major midfielders that Man Utd signed in the summer of 2026.

Baleba joined from Brighton and Hove Albion for £70million, while Man Utd paid Chelsea £50m for Santos.

Tielemans was the cheapest of the three midfield signings and cost £35m from Aston Villa.

With Casemiro leaving and Ugarte injured for the long time, Man Utd needed to strengthen their midfield department.

However, according to ESPN, Ugarte is a problem for Man Utd in the long run.

Man Utd were keen to get rid of the Uruguay international midfielder before he suffered a knee injury at the 2026 World Cup finals.

The report has explained: ‘Manuel Ugarte is one example.

‘The Uruguayan arrived at Old Trafford for a fee of more than £50 million in 2024 and after two underwhelming campaigns, he was available for transfer in this window.

‘The club knew that to balance the books, they would need a bid of around £20 million – something that was unlikely given his recent form and wage demands.

‘The best they could hope for was to arrange a loan with a club willing to cover Ugarte’s salary.

‘In the end, a serious knee injury at the World Cup ended any hopes of a move, and United will have Ugarte’s wages paid by the FIFA Club Protection Programme for players injured while on international duty.

‘However, the injury only kicks the issue down the road. Ugarte has a contract until June 2029, which means United will be left looking for another solution next summer and possibly beyond.

‘It’s a problem that could potentially drag on for another three years, and it’s exactly the type of situation Berrada and Wilcox want to avoid.’

Michael Carrick happy with Man Utd deals

Along with Santos, Tielemans and Baleba, Man Utd also signed Karl Darlow, Kit Margetson, Tynan Thompson and Cristiano Orozco, while Marcus Rashford returned to Old Trafford from his loan spell at Barcelona.

Reflecting on Man Utd’s summer transfer activity, Carrick said: “We went into the window wanting to come out stronger from the group that we had last season and we’ve definitely added to that.

“I think we’ve done a lot of good work in that respect and the situation is what it is, you know, in terms of finances and what we can work with and what we’re trying to get the most of.

“Certainly, the players that we’ve brought into the group, I’m delighted with, absolutely delighted with, and I think we’ve done some really good business there and for the quality and the level of player that we’ve got, I’m really, really happy with that.

“You can always look at it and there’s other things you can do or could have done, possibly could have done, where some things come available, some don’t.

“That’s just part of evolving the group and trying to push all the time, you know, and we obviously had certain things that we needed to fulfil to try and improve the group.

“And, I think, largely, we’re in a good place.

“We got pretty good balance within the whole squad.

“Dynamic strengths of what we might need in certain games.

“So, we got players that are flexible as well throughout the whole team that can play in different positions as and when and if we need it.

“So, I think as you go through the season, you always need that. So, yeah, largely pretty happy, yeah.”