Back on Wednesday, we covered a big report from Portuguese newspaper A Bola which said Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur were fighting ‘shoulder to shoulder’ to sign Manuel Ugarte from Sporting.
However, fans from both clubs received a bucket of cold water to the face when, on Thursday, reports came up to say that Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea and Newcastle United were all showing up with €60m, which is the amount in his release clause. It was said the French club placed their bid and the English sides would now follow to make their attempts.
A Bola, however, is back with good news for Aston Villa and Tottenham, claiming they are not out of the picture yet.
Despite acknowledging that PSG are about to trigger Ugarte’s release clause, it’s said that English clubs are ready to make an ‘identical investment’.
And it’s Aston Villa and Tottenham who are said to be ‘leading the way’ in England to pay the €60m for the transfer.
The outlet highlights that in a press conference today, Sporting manager Ruben Amorim claimed ‘there isn’t only one club interested in Ugarte’.
What has started to look strange is how each outlet is naming one club in its story, always saying the interested sides are ready to pay €60m.
Perhaps these are games put in place by Sporting? Only time will tell.
