Chelsea are pressing on with a move for Sporting midfielder Manuel Ugarte after having reportedly agreed to pay his 60m euro release clause this summer, according to reports.
All of Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher and Denis Zakaria could leave this summer, meaning that reinforcements are crucial, and the Blues are thought to be moving quickly to address that issue.
A tough-tackling midfielder, the 22-year-old Ugarte impressed in the Europa League as they knocked out Premier League giants Arsenal in the last 16 of the competition, though he was sent off late on in the second leg.
Now, as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Blues are ‘pushing’ to complete the deal, and ‘Chelsea consider deal now at ‘advanced stage’ but not yet done amid PSG interest in the midfielder
However, there will be no player involved in the deal, despite rumours that David Datro Fofana may be sent to the Portuguese side on loan for the upcoming campaign. Instead, it is believed that the Ivorian will spend 2023/24 on loan elsewhere, though that may change following Mauricio Pochettino’s assessment of his squad in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Blues are also keen on recruiting Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, for whom they saw one bid rejected in January. However, they face competition from Arsenal, who have the added benefit of being able to offer the Ecuador midfielder European football next season.
