Manuel Ugarte misses out on dream Man Utd shirt number ahead of 50m Old Trafford move

Manuel Ugarte misses out on dream Man Utd shirt number ahead of 50m Old Trafford move

Manchester United are set to mark transfer deadline day with the signing of Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who’s already missed out on wearing his dream shirt number

Matthijs de Ligt will block fellow new signing Manuel Ugarte from wearing his dream shirt number at Manchester United.

Ugarte, 23, is expected to complete his £50million move to Old Trafford before the summer transfer window slams shut at 11pm on Friday.

The Paris Saint-Germain star has been United’s first-choice target for a new defensive midfielder all summer and could be available to make his debut against Liverpool on Sunday.

But Ugarte won’t be wearing the No.4 shirt like he did in Paris, as De Ligt took that following his £42m arrival from Bayern Munich earlier this month.

The Uruguay international will instead need to opt for a number further down the list, not even the No.15 which he wore for Sporting Lisbon previously, as that belongs to another new United signing in Leny Yoro.

Ugarte spent two seasons with Sporting until 2023, as he made his name as one of Europe’s most promising defensive midfielders.

The 23-year-old joined the Lisbon giants from Famalicao, another team in the Portuguese top flight.

In his two years there, Ugarte opted to wear the No.8 shirt which at United is taken by captain Bruno Fernandes. Going back to the start, during his first four seasons of professional football with Uruguayan side Fenix, he wore the numbers 20 and 26, the latter of which is available at Old Trafford.

As for his international career, Ugarte now wears No.5, owned by Harry Maguire at United. His previous shirt numbers include 20, 6, 25, 15 and 17