Newcastle United had a scout in attendance for Arsenal’s clash with Sporting Club de Portugal earlier this month and ‘noted’ midfielder Manuel Ugarte’s performance.
That’s according to O Jogo, who say the Magpies were one of several sides in attendance at the Emirates to scout the Portuguese side.
The newspaper explains that Newcastle were joined by Leeds, Wolverhampton and Aston Villa in watching the game so they could scout potential talent.
The main man they picked up on in that game was the Uruguayan, who put in an impressive performance against the Gunners despite it ending with a red card after two yellows.
So far none of the interested sides, including Newcastle, have made a concrete move for the midfielder and Sporting are resistant to losing him.
They know that in the face of a club matching his release clause of €60m, or an ‘impossible to refuse’ offer, they will not be able to keep him.
Instead their plan is to renew the player’s contract with an increased €80m release clause, as well as increase the percentage of the player they own to 80%.
Their holding is currently 70% but is set to increase after the player features in another 15 games, which the Portuguese side obviously want to see happen.
For it to do so they would need to reach the Europa League final or play in Champions League qualifying. There is also the possibility of them delaying a deal until into August so the player can get more games under his belt.
Ugarte is not the only player in the Sporting squad Newcastle have an interest in either, with them also keen on Gonçalo Inácio. He is a player they have been ‘attentive’ to ‘for a long time’.
Thus the original idea of the trip to the Emirates may have been to watch him once more, but it was Ugarte’s performance that caught the eye and has seemingly set up a potential move in the summer.
