Chelsea have been shown why they must beat Paris Saint-Germain to the signing of Manuel Ugarte this summer. The 22-year-old have been heavily linked with an exit from Sporting CP lately – and he appears to be the perfect midfield partner for Enzo Fernandez.
Ugarte, who sees his contract at the Estádio José Alvalade expire in 2026, has featured 47 times for the Portuguese outfit this season, helping Ruben Amorim's side venture into the Europa League quarter-finals. The Uruguay international's impressive performances have reportedly courted the attention of some big clubs around Europe, and he could be available for half of what Declan Rice is valued at.
According to reports in France and Portugal on Thursday, PSG were close to wrapping up a deal for Ugarte with the Uruguayan expected to sign a five-year contract. It's believed that the Parisians informed his agent, Jorge Mendes, they would trigger the £52m clause in Ugarte's contract.
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Then, more recently, Brazilian journalist Bruno Andrade reported that Chelsea have recently flown a representative to Lisbon. It's said that the Blues told Sporting they will also activate the clause, leaving Ugarte to pick between the two clubs.
In fact, the west Londoners are so keen to sign the midfielder that they could offer several additional bonuses to the Portuguese side. While many might be confused as to why Chelsea are pushing so hard to sign Ugarte, a graphic on social media has revealed exactly why.
Fernandez is in desperate need of a tough-tackling partner alongside him in midfield and the Uruguayan is seems to be exactly that – especially with N'Golo Kante set to leave next month once he contract expires. To simply put it, Ugarte will be brought in to fulfil the Frenchman's role and allow the £106million-signing to work his magic.
While the signs may be promising, Chelsea look set to face tough competition for the Sporting star's signature. During Thursday afternoon's pre-match press conference, Amorim addressed the speculation regarding Ugarte's future.
"In relation to Manu, I cannot confirm anything, that part is beyond me," said the Sporting boss. "Obviously it's difficult to keep players like him, there are several clubs behind, not just one, knowing that our project is not sold and that we missed the Champions League.
"It makes everything more difficult. We will see. It's not my job, but I know what I want to do with the team, I've already conveyed that to the board, we're prepared for any scenario."
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Then, when asked if Sporting have lost leverage in talks after missing out on Champions League qualification, Amorim replied: "I know that I usually respond and sometimes I get involved in matters that are not mine, but I'll leave it to the board - any comment from me could affect some situation in the negotiation. Even in the Champions League over the last two years we had to sell. Ugarte is one of our most coveted players."
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