Sporting Lisbon's Uruguayan midfielder Ugarte leaves the pitch after being shown a red card against Arsenal. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
As per journalist Bruno Andrade of UOL Esporte (h/t Daily Mail), Chelsea will match Paris-Saint Germain’s £52m bid for Sporting Lisbon and Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte in the coming days.
The report also reveals that the Blues have sent their representatives to Portugal to hold talks with Sporting for making a move to sign Ugarte.
The 22-year-old would potentially now have to choose between PSG and Chelsea to become his next club. It seems like his time at Sporting is over after the end of this season.
Ugarte is a defensive midfield player who is good at passing the ball, can tackle well and make defensive interceptions, is good aerially and possesses good pace to cover the ground in the middle of the park.
With Mateo Kovacic likely to leave in the summer, Chelsea could do with a defensive-minded midfield addition to the squad. Right now, the Blues have Enzo Fernandez and N’Golo Kante as senior central midfield players. Others in that department may be sold in the summer.
We still haven’t heard much about Kante’s future because his contract expires in the summer. A few days ago, the Frenchman expressed his desire to be a part of the club’s future. Whether the club is looking to offer him a new deal, we never know.
If Chelsea get Ugarte, he can play the number six role, freeing Fernandez to operate in the box-to-box role. With how good the latter is in passing and playmaking, he was slightly underused when playing the deeper role.
The potential midfield partnership of Ugarte and Fernandez, managed by Mauricio Pochettino who loves combative yet technically solid midfielders, can be a good base for the Blues to work with next season onwards.
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