According to reports, Man Utd have joined Chelsea and PSG in the race to sign Uruguay international Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon.
The defensive midfielder has emerged as a key player for Sporting Lisbon over the past two seasons. He has played 85 times for the Portuguese side across all competitions.
His recent form has fuelled talk that he could sign for one of Europe’s biggest clubs and there is a €60m release clause in his contract.
Liverpool have been linked with him in recent weeks, but let’s not read too much into this as they are apparently after every midfielder in the world at the moment.
It emerged last week that PSG are ready to trigger Ugarte’s but Chelsea have moved to sign him ahead of the Ligue 1 outfit. The Blues are said to have already agreed personal terms with the midfielder.
But Portuguese outlet A Bola (via Sport Witness) are reporting that Man Utd have ‘decisively joined the battle’ for Ugarte.
The Premier League giants are ‘willing to make a large investment’ to sign the 22-year-old and they are said to be presenting a ‘great financial argument’.
The report claims Man Utd will have an advantage over Chelsea in the fight for Ugarte with them qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Erik ten Hag is looking to strengthen in several positions this summer but his priority is to sign a new striker.
Harry Kane is among United’s main targets. The Spurs forward is out of contract in 2024 so his future is in doubt heading into this summer.
Tottenham endured a dreadful season in 2022/23 but Kane was superb as he scored 30 Premier League goals.
A report from Football Insider provides a ‘big update on Man Utd agreeing to a deal with Spurs’ for Kane.
The Red Devils are ‘not optimistic about finding an agreement with Tottenham’ as they feel ‘negotiations for the England captain could drag on throughout the summer window’.
A move for Kane is said to be difficult as ‘Ten Hag’s side want to wrap up their business early in the off-season as they target a title challenge in the 2023-24 campaign’.
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Teddy Sheringham thinks Kane needs to “ask himself the same questions” he asked of himself when he left Tottenham.
“Harry has got to ask himself the same questions that I asked myself when I left Tottenham. I wanted to play with the best players in the world, which obviously wasn’t going to be the case at Tottenham,” Sheringham told William Hill.
“He has to ask whether there will there be top players coming to Tottenham, and if they are, is the club going to win anything over the next three or four years that he’s got left at the top?
“It’s a big time for him, so he’s got to ask these questions to himself and be honest. If it’s going to upset people if he says he’s going to leave, then he’s got to do it. If not, then I’m sure he’ll stay at Tottenham and score the goals that he does.”
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