Is PSG's superstar era over? Sensible summer signings suggest French giants are done chasing the rich and famous

PSG agreed on their first big-money signing of the summer last week. His name is Manuel Ugarte. Those outside of the Europa League or Portuguese top-flight circle might not have heard of Ugarte. That is because he is an unspectacular footballer.

He is a six-foot-two defensive midfielder who does a lot of things well, but nothing spectacularly. Ugarte is good in a tackle, measured in his passing, and athletic enough to cover ground in a modern, high-energy midfield. Ugarte is a player that will do a lot of good things immediately, and also, under the right coaching, be even better in five years.

Ugarte is very much not a PSG signing. But the Parisians spent €60 million (£51.6m/$64m) to bring the Uruguayan international to Paris, outbidding equally notorious wasteful spenders Chelsea for his services.

This is a remarkably shrewd start to a summer of spending - something that PSG generally does not do. The Parisians of years prior would have immediately chased a replacement for the outgoing Lionel Messi, and tried to coax Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, or Leroy Sane from Bayern Munich. Instead, their first arrival is a sensible one, a good player that addresses a position of need.

And there might be something bigger at play here...