Reports indicate that Liverpool declined the opportunity to acquire Manuel Ugarte last summer, prior to the midfielder’s transfer to Manchester United.
Liverpool has achieved the status of English champions for only the second time during the Premier League era in Arne Slot’s inaugural season as manager.
However, the club’s leadership, which experienced considerable changes last summer, made minimal adjustments to the squad previously managed by Jurgen Klopp.
Federico Chiesa was the only significant new addition, while Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip were the notable departures.
Liverpool was publicly associated with Ugarte last summer; however, The Athletic has revealed that Slot and the new sporting director Richard Hughes opposed
Instead, Slot breathed new life into Dutch compatriot Ryan Gravenberch, who had struggled to make the expected impact under Klopp following a £34m move from Bayern Munich in 2023.Gravenberch went from starting only 12 league games last season, to starting all 34 so far this season, anchoring the midfield alongside Alexis Mac Allister.Last summer, Ugarte’s agent Jorge Chijane, fuelled rumours two months before the player was eventually unveiled by United.
“There is a lot of talk but [Liverpool] is not the only club, there are others.
There are many possibilities on the table,” Chijane told O Jogo.A £42m deal, potentially rising to around £50m with add-ons was completed on 30 August.Ugarte has endured a challenging first season with United, arriving in less than ideal circumstances.
But he has been a starter more often than not for Ruben Amorim, the head coach under whom he previously thrived at Sporting CP, and will be better served next season for having had a year under his belt to settle into a new club, league and country.