Forget Manuel Ugarte – Man Utd could sign £22m pressing machine midfielder instead

Manchester United’s squad-wide refit is well underway already, but there is one key area that still needs to be urgently addressed, and that’s the midfield – but progress has been slow, with a deal for number one target Manuel Ugarte proving to be a tricky one to get over the line.

The Manchester Evening News is among the outlets reporting this week that a deal for the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder is still in the works, but all indications are that either PSG will have to drop their demands around the price or Manchester United will have to find buyers for players like Casemiro and Scott McTominay in order to free up the requisite funds. In those clauses lies the rub.

The hope had been that a Saudi Arabian side would step in with a big bid for Casemiro, but Pro League interest in the former Real Madrid man seems to have cooled off. Meanwhile, the parties interested in McTominay, like Fulham and West Ham, won’t match United’s valuation. Ugarte himself seems happy to speed the move along and his agent Jorge Mendes was purported to be in Manchester to sort out personal terms, but the clubs have yet to reach any kind of agreement themselves. The domino that needs to fall is steadfastly refusing to do so.

Fortunately for the Old Trafford faithful, United have been publicly linked with several other midfielders over the past few weeks and don’t seem to be focussing all of their time and energy on Ugarte alone – but the apparent alternatives include everything from like-for-like alternatives to players who fit an entirely different profile.

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These are the five midfielders who are at the top of United’s shortlist, the current state of play with each deal and the verdict on whether they make sense for Erik ten Hag and his team.

Youssouf Fofana

Manchester United have been repeatedly linked with the AS Monaco and France midfielder and he seems set to move this summer with his club keen to cash in before Fofana’s contract expires next summer – and depending on which Italian source you choose to believe, United either lead AC Milan in the race to sign him (per Sky Sports Italia’s Luca Cilli) or Milan are the only team he’s interested in moving to (one for the Fabrizio Romano fans).

The 25-year-old is a hard-working pressing midfielder who forces turnovers and gets the ball quickly forward. He’s got stamina, energy and vision as well as being strong in the tackle, and would be perfect for the style of football Ten Hag has had Manchester United playing – he could bridge the large gaps between the deep-set defence and the attacking line better than most midfielders (something only McTominay really managed last season) and spark attacking moves quickly after winning the ball back. It’s reported that he’d cost around €25m (£21.5m).

The 3AM Verdict: Unless Romano has it right and he’s got his heart set on a move to Milan, the only reason for United to look anywhere else is because they want a more positionally-disciplined holding midfielder, which is perhaps a role Ugarte would be better suited to. If they want to play in a similar way to last season, however, Fofana looks perfect on paper and a bargain at the price. 9/10.

Sander Berge

A rogue name which appeared on the radar a little over a week ago, the Burnley midfielder has been one of the best players in the Championship over the last few years but has never managed to cut it in the top flight, especially when played in a narrow holding midfield role.

At Sheffield United, he was highly effective in a more fluid and advanced position but only in the second tier. According to the Manchester Evening News, talks remain ongoing with the Clarets looking for anything up to £30m for the Norway international;s services.

The 3AM Verdict: This is a tough one to wrap our heads around. Berge has struggled to show his best form in the top flight and been relegated twice, and he isn’t the kind of holding midfielder they seem to be after – his best football has come when he’s been able to attack the right-hand channels in advanced areas, which doesn’t seem to fit the way Ten Hag sets up at all. We’re prepared to be proven wrong, of course, but this has felt like a baffling link from the start. 3/10.

Adrien Rabiot

This feels rather more like the right speed for a team with top four ambitions. The France international is a free agent after leaving Juventus in the summer and 90min are among the outlets claiming that he is interested in moving to Old Trafford – although they do note that neither party is in a rush to get a deal done.

The 29-year-old is not, of course, a holding midfielder and would be more suited to playing ahead of someone like Ugarte, but he does have plenty of the creativity and technique that was visibly absent from United’s midfield last season. His wages would likely prove to be astronomical, but that’s what a midfielder who can score and pass sets a team back these days.

The 3AM Verdict: In truth, a decision on Rabiot should be separate from any non-financial considerations surrounding the Ugarte move. United probably need a defensive midfielder first and foremost and creators second, so Rabiot shouldn’t be a priority until after a deal for Ugarte or anyone else is done. Otherwise, the only real problem with signing Rabiot would be having to deal with his notoriously belligerent mother, who doubles as his agent. 6/10.

Frenkie de Jong

The idea of Manchester United signing De Jong is cliché at this stage – he’s a Wesley Sneijder for the modern era, a midfielder whose name comes up every summer but who never touches so much as a single blade of grass at Old Trafford. Still, The Daily Mail reckon that United have reignited the flame for the hundredth time and Barcelona are probably still desperate to get his colossal wages off the books, so it’s not impossible that it all finally comes together.

Although not seen as a defensive player but more of a classic central midfielder, De Jong is stronger than often realised in the tackle and generates a very healthy rate of turnovers, and could work well in a double pivot alongside someone like Kobbie Mainoo so long as United tighten their midfield up positionally and condense the pitch a little more. He’s also a genuinely sublime passer with a huge range and great vision who keeps play ticking along beautifully even though he’s seldom the one who plays the final ball or gets on the end of it.

The 3AM Verdict: De Jong probably doesn’t have the pace and physicality to play effectively in the ‘deep defensive line/high attacking line’ system we saw last season, but if Ten Hag sticks with the much tighter set up we saw against Manchester City in the Community Shield, De Jong’s playing style might match up with what United need to a greater extent than they realise. The biggest problem is probably cash – De Jong is reportedly being paid over £600,000 per week by Barcelona, a club who make Chelsea look stingy with their contracts. 7/10.

Sofyan Amrabat

Ten Hag has hinted this summer that he may well move to bring the Morocco international back despite a disappointing loan spell last season, and Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport claim that he is waiting on an offer before deciding on a possible move from Fiorentina to Turkey.

Amrabat fits the playing profile but, like Berge, hasn’t exactly gilded his CV when given a chance in the Premier League, and his performances for United last season were mostly pretty turgid. No formal offer has yet been made, and one wonders if Ten Hag would really repeat the same mistake twice.

The 3AM Verdict: What’s the definition of insanity again? Bringing Amrabat back might fit neatly with the words of that old chestnut. He was superb for Morocco in the last World Cup but all evidence since suggests that we saw an unrepeatable zenith in Qatar, and United simply have to move on. The effort is there, but the quality is not, and United need more. 2/10.