ven although they spent north of £600million final season, Chelsea are anticipated to be closely concerned in the summertime switch market as soon as once more, and one participant they're very considering is Manuel Ugarte.
The 22-year-old defensive midfielder is an eight-time Uruguay worldwide, and was a part of the squad that competed on the 2022 World Cup.
After simply seven months of stellar performances for Portuguese facet Famalicao, Ugarte signed for Sporting Lisbon in 2021, the place he has turn out to be one of many Primeira Liga’s most constant midfielders.
Mauricio Pochettino, who was announced as Chelsea’s new manager on Monday, is believed to need the Uruguayan, who Pochettino’s former employers Paris Saint-Germain additionally admire. He has a £53m buyout clause, which PSG are keen to pay up entrance whereas Chelsea reportedly desire to agree a structured deal.
Chelsea followers have shared their frustrations since Enzo Fernandez signed in January on the manner he has been deployed a lot deeper than at Benfica or for Argentina on the World Cup. Enzo is a cultured, pivoting deep-lying playmaker however has needed to act as a defensive midfielder since becoming a member of.
In all three of those potential midfield line-ups, the Premier League file signing’s offensive risk could be unlocked by the presence of Ugarte as a bona fide defensive midfielder.
Pochettino had a historical past of growing younger English gamers like Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier when he was Tottenham boss, and Conor Gallagher is the kind of versatile midfielder who may thrive below the Argentine.
It stays to be seen whether or not N’Golo Kante will go away this summer time, together with his contract up in June. If he does signal a contract extension then it's fairly believable he would transfer forward of Gallagher within the batting order.
With Ugarte nonetheless the only real defensive midfielder, Kante may associate Enzo. Ugarte leads the Primeira Liga this season for tackles made in addition to tackles gained. That would allow him to win the ball again speedily for Chelsea, earlier than unlocking Kante to maraud ahead or Enzo to select a deft cross to an attacker or full-back.
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If Kante leaves when his contract expires and Mateo Kovacic — who's reportedly attracting curiosity from the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich — stays on the membership, then Kovacic could possibly be the best dynamic associate to the tough-tackling Uruguayan.
Although Kovacic had turn out to be a followers’ favorite at Stamford Bridge and gained Chelsea participant of the yr in 2020, he struggled with knee and calf accidents in addition to his personal type this season throughout Chelsea’s turbulent marketing campaign.
But with Enzo forward of him and Ugarte alongside him, this might have the makings of a really well-balanced midfield trio, with Kovacic’s expertise balancing out the youth of the 2 22-year-olds.
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