£51m Utd star’s future now ‘looking increasingly bleak’ as he faces premature ‘axe’ just two years into his deal

Manchester United are already considering ways to offload Manuel Ugarte, despite having him in their ranks for only 16 months.The midfielder signed from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2024 in a deal worth £50.5 million, with United paying £42.1 million upfront while pledging an additional £8.4 million in add-ons to add him to their ranks.How is Manuel Ugarte faring this season?(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)In his first season at Old Trafford after Ruben Amorim took the reins, Ugarte made 23 Premier League appearances, 19 of which came from the off, as well as a further 11 outings across the remaining three competitions.Fast-forward to now, with three months of the campaign already played out, and the Uruguayan has been given the nod only twice in the league.He’s earned the rest of his minutes off the bench, but has been an unused option on four occasions already – including in three of the last five games.Ugarte: The state of play amid United uncertainty(Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)Alas, it’ll come as no surprise to learn that, according to TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook, the 24-year-old’s future at United is ‘looking increasingly bleak’.He is said to be ‘facing the axe’ already, having fallen almost entirely out of favour under Amorim.Recent reports have already suggested INEOS would consider any offers that arrived for Ugarte in January, as well as for Kobbie Mainoo, Tyrell Malacia and Joshua Zirkzee.Ugarte is tied down to a deal until June 2029, so the club will be adamant to try and recuperate as high a fee as possible through his prospective departure.That being said, he’s only going to garner interest if potential suitors are actually able to see him play and decipher whether he’d be a suitable addition, which he won’t be doing at United if things continue as they are.