Manchester United are on the verge of signing Manuel Ugarte but Erik ten Hag had one Euro 2024 star in mind as a potential alternative.

Transfer deadline day is here and Manchester United fans are waiting on just the one arrival.

Erik ten Hag has been desperate to add to his midfield this summer and one target has stood out from the crowd throughout the window.

United have been chasing Manuel Ugarte for most of the summer and a deal is finally thought to be close.

Ugarte was undergoing a medical with United on Wednesday having seen a deal finally thrashed out with Paris Saint-Germain.

The deal hasn't been confirmed just yet but Ugarte should see his deal rubber-stamped ahead of the transfer deadline.

Claims from the Daily Mail now suggest that United were interested in snapping up PSV Eindhoven Jerdy Schouten.

MORE UNITED STORIES

It's stated that United 'explored' a potential move to sign Schouten as a fallback to Ugarte.

The report claims that Erik ten Hag is a big fan of Schouten and was backing a move for the Dutchman if a deal for Ugarte fell through.

Schouten's international teammate Teun Koopmeiners was on the radar too, but he has now joined Juventus from Atalanta.

United are set to land top target Ugarte but perhaps Schouten is a name to keep tabs on for future transfer windows as United mould Ten Hag's midfield options.

Who is PSV star Jerdy Schouten? Schouten came through the ADO Den Hag ranks but played just three times before dropping into the Dutch second tier with Telstar.

Schouten impressed enough to join Excelsior after just a year and his meteoric rise continued with a 2019 move to Bologna.

The midfielder had gone from unwanted at ADO Den Haag to playing in Serie A in just two years.

Schouten was a regular starter for Bologna, racking up more than 100 appearances for the club before returning to the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven last summer.

The 27-year-old impressed at Euro 2024 too, serving as the most consistent performer in the Dutch midfield.

Schouten's displays saw him earn praise from Dutch pundit Hans Kraay Jr, who suggested that Schouten is a real 'Pep Guardiola footballer' and simply never gives the ball away.

"They are not nightcaps, are they, at Manchester City, at Liverpool, at Arsenal. Someone who never, ever gives the ball to the wrong colour," said Kraay Jr, as quoted by FC Update.

"This is a typical Pep Guardiola footballer. Pep Guardiola has been salivating the entire tournament. He will think: 'That's nice. We are a team that wants to have eighty, ninety percent possession of the ball and that Schouten has ninety percent possession.' They are going to pick him up," he added.

United appear to have impressed with Schouten and with Ten Hag at the helm, a future move for the PSV star simply cannot be ruled out - especially amid long-term doubts about Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.