Manuel Ugarte has been told by Red Devils legend Nicky Butt that he’s “not a Manchester United midfielder in a million years” as Rio Ferdinand also stuck the boot in amid reports the Uruguay international is on his way out in January.

Ugarte has endured a difficult time at Old Trafford since his move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024, and despite a slight uptick in his performances of late, Butt isn’t having the 24-year-old.

He told The Good, The Bad & The Football?podcast: “Ugarte is not a Manchester United midfielder in a million years. Not in a million years?he’s?a Man United midfielder.

“That’s?just one example of the recruitment and how they keep getting it wrong.?They keep getting it wrong all the time with the players they’re bringing in and that’s a fact.”

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Both Nice and Galatasaray have been monitoring Ugarte’s situation, with Fotomac claiming the Turkish giants have moved decisively, exploring a loan deal in January with an option to buy.

It’s claimed United are holding out for €36m (￡26m) to limit the scale of any financial loss on a player signed for €50m (￡43m) barely 18 months ago.

Last week, a report from Turkish journalist Kagan Dursun claimed Ugarte has already “agreed” on personal terms with Galatasaray.

“In all personal conditions, Galatasaray and Ugarte have reached an agreement. The Ugarte side has been convinced,” Dursun said.

“So you have an agreement with the player, yes. But you know, there is a club side to this, when you have an agreement with the player side, it doesn’t end.”

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In a new update on Tuesday, Turkish journalist Yakup ??nar shed more light on the potential transfer, claiming Ugarte “will leave” Man Utd this month.

“Galatasaray continues its contacts regarding Manuel Ugarte,”???nar said.

“Names such as [Fernando] Muslera and [Lucas] Torreira are in talks with the player about Galatasaray. Galatasaray wants to rent him with a loan purchase option. The player will leave Manchester United 100%.”

??nar’s claim is at odds with a report from ESPN’s Mark Ogden, who says there are no plans to make new signings in January and that Michael Carrick will have to work with the squad he inherited from Ruben Amorim, including Ugarte.

United legend Ferdinand agrees with former teammate Butt, though wonders if Carrick – a world class central midfielder in his day – might squeeze more quality out of Ugarte.

Ferdinand told Rio Ferdinand Presents: “I’ve got to be honest, I have been disappointed with Ugarte. He is one player when he came in everybody said he’s got legs, he can tackle, he can move. The description I was getting was he was the right type of player we needed. It just hasn’t materialised, it hasn’t come to the fore. I haven’t seen the player that everybody was talking about before in terms of being able to get up against people quickly and tackle.

“That’s meant to be a big part of his game, being aggressive. He hasn’t put a marker down in a game that’s made me think ‘this guy could be one of our midfield dogs or controllers who is really going to get things going in the midfield’. He hasn’t got anywhere near that.”

Ferdinand added: “Can Michael Carrick get any more out of him? That is going to be a big challenge for Michael Carrick: Can he get any more out of these players as individuals to make the team better?

“He’s got to get both of those bits better, the team better and the individual players playing to a high level and get so much more out of them.”