New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has urged Chelsea to step up the chase for Sporting Portugal midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
- Pochettino wants Uruguayan star
- PSG already in advanced talks
- Chelsea need to sell first
What is the news?
Shortly after Chelsea confirmed the appointment of Pochettino as their new manager, rumours of summer signings have been increasing. The Argentinian is ready to have a full squad rebuild and according to 90min, Chelsea are looking at Sporting Portugal midfielder Manuel Ugarte. The 22-year-old midfielder has also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain in recent weeks and could cost Chelsea around 60 million euros.
The backstory
Ugarte, who joined Sporting in the summer of 2021, is set to leave Sporting this summer after the Lisbon club has failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Heach coach Ruben Amorim already confessed to the media that the club will face a massive struggle to keep the Uruguayan midfielder at the club this summer: “Obviously it’s difficult to keep players like him, there are several clubs interested, not just one, knowing that our project is not sold and that we missed the Champions League,” Amorim said. “It makes everything more difficult.”
What will happen next?
At this point PSG’s pursuit of Ugarte is in a more advanced stage than Chelsea’s. The Blues have only just appointed Pochettino as their new boss and the Argentinian will start his new job later this week. Whilst Ugarte is being tipped as a high priority target for Pochettino this summer, the club will need to offload some players before making their move on the transfer market. N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount are the players who are likely to leave Stamford Bridge.
