Ugarte Man Utd, Doue PSG, and more

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Desire Doue has now chosen PSG over Bayern Munich. It’s a significant move for PSG and a bit of a coup in what’s been quite a tough summer transfer window so far, not just for PSG but for French clubs in general with the financial situation in Ligue 1 relating to the TV deal. Whether you’re PSG or Marseille or anyone else, it’s been difficult to get the best talent coming in.

Some big names, for example Leny Yoro, who PSG really prioritised, have been a challenge to target in this market, and that’s seen PSG pivot in recent weeks, instead signing Willian Pacho from Eintracht Frankfurt. So it’s now a real boost to see Doue choosing PSG over what looks quite an exciting Bayern project overall when you see the calibre of players they’ve added this summer.

PSG are happy that the Doue deal looks to be on the right track, even if it’s not quite a done deal just yet. It is getting closer to completion and I believe PSG and Rennes have reached an agreement over terms, which should see that deal happen in the very near future.

It’s a boost for PSG as well because it’s further strengthening that French contingent in their squad, which is something that they would like to build on in the next couple of weeks as well with some of the players they’re targeting. We’ll see soon about specific names, but my understanding is that they’re keen to strengthen the depth of their squad, particularly with full-backs, for example.

So, they’ve done well to beat Bayern to Doue, who looked fantastic in Ligue 1 last season, and this is just one of what they hope will be a number of French talents coming in before the end of the window.

I think something we can also expect from PSG before the deadline is an effort to move on some of their undesirable players. There are some individuals they’d ideally like to move on, such as Carlos Soler and Nordi Mukiele – those are two high-profile examples. Danilo Pereira is also in a similar situation.

Milan Skriniar, meanwhile, is someone who PSG could move on if there were to be a suitable offer for him. I think PSG would be quite happy to cash in on him, but it’s been difficult at times for PSG to drum up the…