The battle between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur to sign Sporting midfielder Manuel Ugarte today gets a very good update from the Portuguese media.
Newspaper A Bola features a full-page story explaining how the two Premier League clubs are in a fierce fight to get the 22-year-old signed.
The outlet writes that even though Aston Villa tried to ‘take the lead’ in the race for Ugarte, Tottenham ‘nearly immediately counter-attacked’, and the clubs now stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ competing for him.
A Bola claims this isn’t even an auction, because there’s a price set for the midfielder to leave Sporting. That’s the €60m in his release clause.
The newspaper insists that will be matched, saying the transfer should be closed in the days following the end of the season, as the negotiations are ‘very advanced’. But it seems both Aston Villa and Tottenham have the chance to win the battle.
In case both clubs hit €60m, then it seems it’ll be a matter of who’ll make Ugarte a more attractive offer. With A Bola mentioning the possibility of a conclusion next week, perhaps we won’t have to wait long to know the winners.
