Manuel Ugarte transfer news: PSG have reached an agreement with the player and have triggered his €60 million release clause. He can now be considered a new player for the Ligue 1 champions. An official statement, however, will not arrive until July.
Chelsea left the race to sign Manuel Ugarte from Sporting CP, after they failed to reach an agreement with the club on the financial amount of the transfer. They weren’t willing to spend what they deem to be ‘above the market rate’ for the midfielder, and will now turn to other options to bolster their midfield.
PSG now have a clear pass at signing the player, and are set to wrap up the move imminently. Their proposal has always been to trigger his €60 million release clause, while Chelsea were looking into other options of paying slightly over the release clause but with a different payment structure. The Blues were anticipating that a €60+5 million offer would seal the deal, but that has now failed to convince the Portuguese outfit.
Ugarte is in Paris currently and is expected to complete his medical for the transfer in the coming days. An official announcement will follow soon after the formalities have been completed.
Paris are also set to complete the transfer of Marco Asensio on a free transfer, with a total agreement now in place.
Manuel Ugarte transfer news: Why have Chelsea dropped out?
PSG have seemingly offered more money in the transfer, which Chelsea are not willing to pay. And for this reason, they have decided to leave the race for the player. It seemed like he had an agreement on personal terms with the Blues, as rumours suggested that a contract until 2029 was in the works.
If he did make the move, he would be accepting no European football and a lower pay for at least one season with them. But now, he will be playing Champions League football with PSG next season.
The fact that Chelsea have dropped out of a transfer race because of financial issues seems rather contradictory considering their lavish spending last season. But with the way things are going right now, it seems like they finally have some direction as to how they want to operate in the transfer market instead of signing every available player.
Manuel Ugarte transfer news: What now for Chelsea?
The Blues are in the market for a defensive midfielder to work alongside Enzo Fernandez. And while Ugarte could have been a good option, it seems like he won’t be joining the club after all. Moises Caicedo is now one of the main options for the club, after it was confirmed that he would be leaving Brighton at the end of the season.
There was a huge probability that he could have signed for either Chelsea or Arsenal during the January transfer window. But both clubs were priced out of a transfer by the Seagulls. Now, however, they are content with letting the midfielder go for a decent fee.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Caicedo was always on the Chelsea list alongside Ugarte. Meaning they would have gone for him regardless of how the transfer for Manuel Ugarte panned out. And now that it has failed, they will have to double down on signing Caicedo to bolster their midfield.
PSG, on the other hand, will have a new defensive midfielder in their squad which could provide more stability and cover to the backline, something that has been missing for a while in their squad.
