Chelsea have spent an outrageous £585 million on 16 new players since Todd Boehly purchased the club but the spree is not stopping anytime soon it seems.
The Blues' most recent addition was the British-record £106 million capture of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez on transfer deadline day and it appears as though they are looking to draft in another South American midfielder currently playing in Portugal.
Reports claim the club are keen on Sporting CP's Manuel Ugarte, who is just 22 years of age and has attracted interest aplenty.
According to Franco Fernandes of Uruguayan outlet Sport 890, Ugarte is very close to joining Chelsea and fulfilling his desire of playing in the Premier League.
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He claims the fee would be in the region of €65 million and the contract for six years as is current practice under the Boehly regime at Chelsea.
Sporting paid Famalicao just £5 million for Ugarte in 2021 and look set to make substantial profit on the player.
Liverpool, Newcastle and Aston Villa have also been linked but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims Paris Saint-Germain have placed a bid for Ugarte but with "different payment terms" than the €60 million release clause said to be in his contract.
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However, he maintains that Chelsea are "absolutely in the running" for Ugarte, who is represented by Jorge Mendes.
Desperate to bring in a new defensive midfielder, Chelsea also have Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo on their list of options going into what promises to be a massive summer window.
They are extremely high on Ugarte though and Bruno Andrade of UOL Esporte says they recently sent a representative to Lisbon and are more than happy to rival PSG for his signature.
Ugarte has made 84 appearances for Sporting, scoring just one goal but developing into one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe.
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League, Todd Boehly
Josh Lawless