Transfer Centre

Tottenham Hotspur 'make contact over Manuel Ugarte move'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 15 October 2022

Tottenham 'make contact over Manuel Ugarte move'

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly make contact over a move for Sporting Lisbon's Manuel Ugarte, with Paris Saint-Germain also interested in the 21-year-old.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly made contact over a move for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

The 21-year-old came through the youth ranks with Fenix in his native Uruguay before earning a transfer to Portugal with Famalicao in the winter of 2021.

Having immediately cemented himself as a regular in the Primeira Liga, Ugarte swiftly moved onto Sporting for the 2021-22 season and made 38 appearances in his debut campaign.

The midfielder came up with one goal and two assists for Ruben Amorim's side, starting 10 games in the top flight and winning the Portuguese League Cup.

The departure of Matheus Nunes to Wolverhampton Wanderers has seen Ugarte take up more responsibility at Sporting, and he has started 11 games across the Champions League and Primeira Liga.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte celebrates on October 12, 2022 © Reuters

The six-cap Uruguay international played the full 90 as Sporting beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League last month, and according to Jornal de Noticias, Antonio Conte's side are now weighing up a swoop.

Ugarte is under contract with Amorim's side until the end of the 2025-26 season, though, so Tottenham cannot expect to secure a deal on the cheap.

The report adds that Ugarte currently possesses a €60m (£52.1m) release clause in his Sporting contract, but he is set to put pen to paper on a one-year renewal, and the price will rise to €80million (£65.5m).

Furthermore, Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be interested in a deal for Ugarte, and the Parisiens' financial muscle would earn them the upper hand in negotiations over Tottenham.

Conte has kept faith with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur as his first-choice midfield pairing this season, despite the arrival of Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Son Heung-min celebrates scoring for Tottenham Hotspur against Eintracht Frankfurt on October 11, 2022 © Reuters

The 26-year-old has only started two Premier League matches for the Lilywhites in 2022-23, with Conte tending to favour a 3-4-3 formation over a 3-5-2, which fans have been calling for.

Bissouma enjoyed a bright cameo off the bench against Everton, though, coming on for the injured Richarlison with 40 minutes remaining as Spurs struck two second-half goals in a 2-0 win.

Conte was left delighted with Bissouma's performance on Saturday, telling a press conference: "Bissouma played a really good game. I think that when we go to play with a midfield three, for him it's in this moment it's better to have two midfielders with him. His impact was really, really positive.

"I think it's his understanding that he's in a top club and the pressure is different and the level of the intensity of the training sessions are more higher so the focus has to be every, every moment at the top. The demands are a lot and he's understanding this. We're talking about a really good player and he played really well and I'm happy for this."

With Conte confirming that Richarlison's calf injury would keep him out of Wednesday's trip to Manchester United, Bissouma will hope to return to the starting lineup in midweek, as Dejan Kulusevski remains a doubt with his hamstring issue.

Tottenham moved level on points with Manchester City after beating Everton 2-0, with Harry Kane's penalty and Hojbjerg's deflected effort doing the damage, but Richarlison was pictured leaving the stadium on crutches following the contest.