Ruben Amorim will be fretting over his midfield selection ahead of Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The head coach has preferred a midfield pairing of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes up till this point.
But the Brazilian picked up his fifth individual yellow card against Bournemouth last week, which means he will face an automatic one-match ban.
It comes at the worst possible time for the Red Devils, given they will be without attacking talismans Amad and Bryan Mbeumo, while Villa are in red-hot form.
Manuel Ugarte has been a huge disappointment since joining
So far, Amorim has refrained from playing Kobbie Mainoo as the defensive midfielder, seeing him more as a backup for the club captain.
Which leaves Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan has started three times this season, and the 20-time English league champions have lost all three.
His former Sporting CP boss’ arrival has done little to improve his fortunes on the pitch. In fact, the Portuguese tactician has come and publicly criticised the Uruguay international.
And the 20-time English league champions are open to cutting their losses, with a loan exit in January mooted.
There is interest from INEOS-owned OGC Nice, as well as from Galatasaray. As per Turkish journalist Erol Evcen, the Turkish champions had a meeting with United and the midfielder’s agent recently.
Galatasaray hold meeting over January deal
United have made their asking price clear, as of now, the Champions League club are yet to submit a concrete proposal.
🚨 Galatasaray, Manuel Ugarte ve kulübü Manchester United ile bir görüşme gerçekleştirdi!
Galatasaray, Manchester United'tan oyuncu için bir fiyat bilgisi aldı. Henüz resmi bir girişim yok. https://t.co/CjvYon9YUz
— Erol Evcen (@ErolEvcenn) December 19, 2025
“Galatasaray held talks with Manuel Ugarte and his club Manchester United!,” the journalist wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Galatasaray received a price quote for the player from Manchester United. There has been no official approach yet.”
It is clear that Manuel Ugarte does not have the required quality to succeed at Old Trafford.
United had secured his services for initial €50 million, and if they can secure anything close to that amount, they should let him leave and reinvest that amount into improving the midfield.
Feature image Marc Atkins via Getty Images
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