Sport

Manchester United finally agree deal to sign PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte

One in, one out by the looks of it.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 27th August 2024

Manchester United look to have wrapped up their latest signing of the summer transfer window as they have reportedly agreed a deal to sign midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

Currently on the books at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and having previously played for Sporting Lisbon, where Man United have plenty of success recruiting from in the past, Ugarte was left out of the French side’s starting lineup for the second game in a row last week as both parties began pushing for the move.

United were said to have agreed to personal terms with the player back in July but PSG have held out for the strongest offer possible, looking to recoup the full fee they paid for him when he left Portugal.

After the move looked to have stalled and the club were thought to be looking at other alternatives, the 12-time Ligue 1 champions have finally budged and agreed a deal worth upwards of £42.2 million for the 23-year-old’s services.

As confirmed by multiple outlets, the central midfielder is set to travel to Manchester for his medical on Tuesday ahead of becoming the fifth player of the Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS era.

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It is still unclear as to how long his contract length is at this stage but it is thought that the fee could rise to around £51.1m with add-ons.

Once over the lines, this will mean United will have spent over £200m on new players already this season, having also brought in three defenders and a new forward.

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Being brought in to be a combative and disruptive influence in the middle of the park, the Uruguayan led the division in tackles last season in 37 appearances across all competitions, and only 21 of those coming from the start during the entire campaign.

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But the move doesn’t come without another player leaving by the looks of things, as Man United are also said to have agreed to let academy graduate turned first-team regular Scott McTominay leave the club after 22 years.

McTominay, 27, was the subject of much interest from around the Premier League, including offers from West Ham and Fulham, but he is now set to join Serie A side Napoli.

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The Italian giants have agreed to pay approximately £25 for the Lancaster-born Scottish international who emerged as a key attacking threat under Erik ten Hag last season – a sum needed in addition to other recent outgoings like Wan-Bissaka and Pellistri in order for United to stay in line with PSR.

Despite being a somewhat divisive figure at times, he is still considered by many as having become an important squad and impact player whose loyalty and commitment to the club was never called into question. He registered 10 goals and three assists in 23/24.

What do we reckon then, Reds: does Ugarte look like a good signing to you and does McTominay looking set to go the other way still make it a good business?

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Featured Images — @aufoficial (via Instagram)

Sport

The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City hearing over 115 FFP charges start date next week

After more than a year of speculation as to when proceedings will finally start, it has been confirmed that the hearing regarding Manchester City and their 115 FFP charges is set to begin next week.

Man City were first slapped with the laundry list of alleged breaches of FFP (financial fair play) and failure to comply with Premier League rules on profit and sustainability (PSR) back in February 2023, but little movement on the case has been reported since then.

In that time, they also won the coveted Treble and their record-breaking fourth league title in a row; meanwhile, the club have continued to deny all claims of rule-breaking.

However, it has now been revealed that City‘s hearing will now kick off on Monday, 16 September.

As explained in various reports, given the extended nature of the claims made against the Manchester side, it is estimated that the case could run on for up to two months if not longer.

Furthermore, it is thought a decision isn’t expected to arrive until spring 2025 – again, this is simply due to the number of charges brought up over the best part of a decade.

In case you need a refresher, the allegations levelled at Man City date back to 2009 and concern a supposed nine years of financial irregularities, as well as subverting UEFA FFP rules.

Some of the accusations made against them also include failing to cooperate with the European football body and the Premier League, as well as offering ‘secret contracts’ so as to pay one particular manager a larger sum than what they recorded in their financial statements.

The final verdict, whenever it is reached, will be handed down by an independent commission and City will still be able to make an official appeal.

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The club itself launched unprecedented legal action against the English top-flight back in June but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to swat away those investigating the books.

It goes without saying that were they to be found guilty, it would be the biggest financial scandal in English football history and could be seismic for the future of money in the sport and regulations surrounding ownership, which have already grown tighter following the charges being issued.

And in case you needed a more detailed refresher on what exactly they are being tried for and what the possibilities are regarding punishment if found guilty, here’s a quick rundown:

What punishment could Manchester City face for FFP breaches?
The outcome and level of punishment following the Man City hearing could vary greatly in severity.

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Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

Billy Harris’ sensational Davis Cup debut helps secure GB’s opening win in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.

‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.

It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.

That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.

Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.

Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.

The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.

Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.

At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.

Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”

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Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.

The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.

Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.

Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Billy Harris/ATP/Davis Cup (via Instagram)

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