Pochettino ‘in a hurry’ to get first Chelsea signing closed – Player set for meeting with Blues for salary talks

Chelsea fans who want Manuel Ugarte signed from Sporting this summer have some good news coming from the Portuguese media today.

A couple of newspapers says on Tuesday that it’s the Blues who currently lead the race for the midfielder.

One of them is O Jogo, who claims that Chelsea’s new manager Mauricio Pochettino is putting ‘pressure’ on the player, who’s ‘very close’ to leaving the Lions.

It’s well known that PSG are also in the battle, with both clubs willing to spend €60m on this signing.

However, the Argentine coach’s arrival at Stamford Bridge is said to be ‘one more argument’ to ‘seduce’ Ugarte to choose for the Blues.

It’s said Pochettino knows the midfielder well and already told Chelsea’s board he wants his arrival. And since he has ‘credit and margin’ to make big demands, he’s said to be ‘in a hurry’ to get the signing done.

Sporting and Jorge Mendes are said to be working hard on the transfer, which could be done in the coming days, ‘preferentially’ before the end of the week.

Meanwhile, newspaper Record brings a headline saying that between PSG and Chelsea, the player’s preference is for the London side, who’ve shown him the best project.

The problem is that the French club offer Ugarte a contract worth €5m per year. Now the player is set to meet the Blues officials to know if they’ll match that.

Chelsea offer is still better for Sporting, though, because besides the €60m fee, there’s also a bonus of €5m.