More and more details are emerging about the rather fascinating collapse of Chelsea’s move for Manuel Ugarte.
The midfielder seems set for PSG now after talks with Chelsea collapsed overnight. He had looked set for a Stamford Bridge switch, and on Saturday and Sunday the sports pages in Portugal were full of information about a move that has now evaporated.
That was coming from Record, but it’s their rivals A Bola with the scoop on how or why the talks collapsed.
They claim that our offer to Ugarte’s club Sporting CP was “more favourable” than PSG’s offer, and interestingly mention that we were willing to include a first option clause on a player who is not part of new manager Mauricio Pochettino’s plans.
By the sounds of things, we did everything we could and made a really strong offer. In the end it’s been the wages that PSG are putting on the table which has swung the player’s decision. Neither Sporting nor Chelsea will be too happy about that given they were clearly crafting a nice little arrangement, but at this stage all we can do is move on a next target.
Not everyone was sold on Ugarte’s potential, and we will now quickly find out who else is on Chelsea’s shortlist as a combative central midfield presence to add to Pochettino’s first squad. Moises Caiedo looks to be top of the list.
