Arne Slot rejected the chance to sign Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte after taking over at Liverpool, according to reports. Ugarte was offered to a number of clubs, including United and Liverpool, after falling out of favour at Paris Saint-Germain.
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PSG spent more than £50m to sign Ugarte from Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon in 2023 but agreed to sell him at a loss just a year later. Ugarte has endured an underwhelming first six months at Old Trafford, starting just nine of Manchester United’s 21 league games due to problems with form and fitness.
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Earlier in the season Liverpool legends Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness both criticised Ugarte’s performances for Manchester United. Souness claimed Ugarte was ‘not good enough’ for the Premier League giants while Carragher highlighted the fact the Uruguayan was mainly a squad player at PSG.
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Even Ugarte has himself admitted he is yet to reach his top level for Manchester United, insisting it was always going to ‘take time to adapt’ to the ‘best league in the world’. Liverpool were keen to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad last summer and were offered the chance to sign Ugarte after missing out on the Spain midfielder, according to The Times.
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But Slot decided against signing the Uruguay international and instead kept faith in Ryan Gravenberch, who has emerged as one of the surprise stars of the season. Gravenberch, who has started all 19 of Liverpool’s Premier League games, even ‘surprised’ new Anfield boss Slot with his level of performances this season, according to Ian Wright.
