Man Utd swap deal with Sunderland 'off the table' as £50m star left out in the cold

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Manchester United's search for midfield reinforcements this summer could hit a snag regarding one potential target.

According to The Sun , Premier League rivals Sunderland have no plans to sell United transfer target Noah Sadiki during the summer transfer window. The 21-year-old joined the 'Black Cats' last summer from Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise for approximately £15m, and has impressed since making the move.

This has apparently caught the eye of Man United and their recruitment department, who have been scouting potential long-term successors for Casemiro as he enters the twilight of his Old Trafford career. Sadiki features on a shortlist of possible targets that includes Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton, and Elliot Anderson , all of whom have made strong starts to their Premier League careers in central midfield. Barcelona's Marc Casado has also been reported as a potential option in the past 24 hours.

However, the Sunderland midfielder is apparently considered "untouchable", with no sum of money likely to persuade the Black Cats to sell the player, who is contracted until 2030. Earlier reports suggested that United were considering a swap arrangement that could have involved Manuel Ugarte departing the club, with the Uruguayan midfielder potentially leaving alongside a cash offer.

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However, with that avenue now apparently closed off, the club's bosses will need to find alternative approaches to their transfer dealings. It also brings into question the future of Ugarte for United, just three transfer windows on from his sensational switch from PSG .

Roughly £42m was paid in 2024 to land the Uruguayan international, who was viewed as an upgrade in the central ranks. He is yet to prove that in his time at Old Trafford, however, having become a squad player who has failed to stamp his mark on a starting place in the first-team.

Former manager Ruben Amorim addressed the struggles that Ugarte faced back in November, when he said: "No, I understand [Ugarte's performances]. You can sense that a lot of very good players come here, and sometimes they struggle, and they are struggling, he is struggling in the moment.

"But it is our job to try to help our players, and again, everything can change, and you saw it five weeks ago, the environment (at the club) was completely different. So I know that Ugarte is struggling in the moment, and my job is trying to help him to feel as a player, like I felt when he was a Sporting player, for example, but it is a different world , and he needs to adapt, and he needs to improve, especially in training."

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Those struggles continued through the last two months of the manager's reign, up until his dismissal. It remains to be seen whether he can be given a new lease of life under a different set of management staff, or whether Ugarte now faces the real possibility of another transfer switch.

Despite questions over the midfield, there is some optimism that, for now at least, Kobbie Mainoo can become pivotal to the team following his recent recall under caretaker manager Michael Carrick , before focus shifts to other midfield targets in the summer window. The academy product wasn't a regular in the starting XI under Amorim, which sparked discussions about a potential January departure to secure more playing time.

Following the manager's eventual dismissal and the appointment of an interim boss, Mainoo has been given an instant second chance with a superb 90-minute display in the Manchester derby against Manchester City . "I thought Kobbie [Mainoo] was great in there alongside Case [Casemiro]," Carrick said in a glowing review of the youngster after the game.

"I thought between the two of them. I thought it gave us a strong foundation really with Licha [Lisandro Martinez] and Harry [Maguire]. I felt it was a game for experience and knowing what it feels like."

Currently, it appears the preferred midfield setup could feature Mainoo and Casemiro in the holding roles, whilst club skipper Bruno Fernandes is deployed in the attacking midfielder position. That could well see Man United through to the end of the season in excellent form, but the broader view is of a team prepared to make a marquee signing in midfield going forward.