Ugarte faces Man United exit as Carrick plans two midfield signings this summer

Manuel Ugarte is facing a summer exit from Manchester United after manager Michael Carrick left the £50m midfielder out of the squad for Sunday’s final Premier League fixture at Brighton — even with Casemiro unavailable through injury.

The 25-year-old has struggled to justify his fee since arriving from Sporting in August 2024. Signed under Erik ten Hag as a long-term successor to Casemiro, Ugarte started 10 league matches this season, with United winning just one of them. Those appearances included heavy defeats to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup and Leeds United in the Premier League — the latter United’s first home league loss to the Yorkshire club since 1981.

Carrick defended Ugarte after the 2-1 defeat to Leeds in April, saying: “Since I’ve come in, and he’s played and come on, he’s been fine. I think tonight was a tough game, not just for Manu. I actually thought, especially when we went down to 10 men, that he did a lot of covering for other players to be able to attack.”

Despite that public backing, the Guardian reports that United are set to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson this summer as one of two planned midfield additions — a development that makes Ugarte’s departure, either on loan or permanently, increasingly likely.

United’s primary midfield target remains an elite defensive midfielder to replace Casemiro, with Real Madrid’s Aurélien Tchouaméni and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali identified as frontrunners for that role.

One midfield target United appear to have lost is Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson. The Mirror reports that United have conceded defeat in the race for the England international, with Manchester City now strongly favoured to sign him. United were unwilling to meet Forest’s asking price of around £100m, and Anderson is understood to prefer a move to City. The Blues remain confident of completing the deal despite Pep Guardiola’s recent departure.

Other midfielders linked with a move to Old Trafford include Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Carlos Belaba, as Carrick looks to reshape the squad ahead of United’s return to European football next season.