Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Sporting Lisbon star Manuel Ugarte.
Manuel Ugarte, who’s just 22, is a highly-rated youngster starting to receive some attention in the transfer rumour mill.
According to FootballTransfers, Chelsea’s recruitment team admire Ugarte and are keen on securing a deal to bring him to Stamford Bridge.
It is understood that the Blues search to appoint their next permanent manager is holding interest up, though.
The FootballTransfers report adds that Premier League side Liverpool are in the race to sign Ugarte, albeit he’s not viewed as their priority target this summer.
In addition, the Sporting midfielder does have a €60million (£53million) in his current deal.
English audiences won’t get to watch too much of the 22-year-old during his games in the Portuguese top division with Sporting, but he’s actually impressed against Premier League opponents during this 2022/23 season already.
He’s caught the eye this term in his performances against both Tottenham and Arsenal across different European competitions.
There’s no doubt Ugarte is a very aggressive midfielder, which you can see by the fact he’s got 15 yellow cards in 44 Sporting appearances this season. He did also get a red card in a European tie against Arsenal, too.
The Uruguay international is a versatile central midfielder that can be effective as a No.8 or a No.6. Incidentally, a lot of his time this season has been at the base of midfield breaking up play and spraying long-range passes.
If you watch Chelsea right now, they could be crying out for a midfield enforcer in a No.6 position.
We would like to see Blues star Enzo Fernandez given a bit more licence to attack, which means moving him up the pitch from a sitter into a box-to-box role. The club needs to find the perfect No.6 first, though.
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