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Manchester United’s insistence on not paying the full price for Jarrad Branthwaite led to Paris Saint-Germain making a compromise on the Manuel Ugarte deal, according to sources.
The Old Trafford side have struggled for years to be taken seriously in the transfer market and have been frequently viewed as a cash cow for other clubs to milk.
This can be seen in historically massive deals for players such as Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Maguire, all costing north of £75 million.
One of the problems new owners Ineos were quick to point out after taking over the club was that historic over-spending on players such as Antony and Casemiro were hurting the side in a plethora of ways.
Therefore, this summer window and future ones were and will be characterised by a strict policy of not overpaying for targets.
“Sources have told ESPN that there are concerns at United about the ongoing financial impact of the deals that yielded Antony and Casemiro,” reporter Rob Dawson claims.
Both Brazilians are viewed by the new owners as panic signings that were ill thought out after a poor start to the season in 2022.
“In contrast, sources close to United’s recruitment operation believe that the discipline shown regarding Branthwaite eventually helped get a deal over the line for Ugarte.”
United spent all summer negotiating with PSG for a deal for Ugarte, as the French champions held out for a fixed fee of £50.7m.
The decision makers at Old Trafford “made a point of referencing their interest in Branthwaite and threatened to walk away just as they had done with Everton”, later signing Leny Yoro instead.
Interestingly, “conversations with [Sofyan] Amrabat remained active right up until the last minute to ensure they would get a holding midfielder through the door even if the move for Ugarte collapsed” and once again shows Ineos’ much-changed strategy from the Glazer years, as they now negotiate multiple deals at the same time as they did with Joshua Zirkzee and Jonathan David.
Amrabat was reportedly waiting on a move to Old Trafford but eventually left Fiorentina for Fenerbahce when it became clear Ugarte would sign.
Finally, PSG accepted a fixed fee of £42.2m plus add-ons, as they blinked realising they could be left with a player they didn’t want without making some sort of compromise in negotiations.
United policy makers will hope that the precedent that they have set this summer will continue to define their future dealings in the market as they aim to change the culture of the club in regard to spending.
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