Tottenham are continuing to watch Sporting Club de Portugal midfielder Manuel Ugarte after first taking note of him in their Champions League clashes earlier this year.
That’s according to O Jogo, who, backed up by Record, state that Tottenham are in the race for the Uruguayan this summer.
The latter reports that Tottenham are one of the side ‘keeping an eye on’ Ugarte’s development this season, with his performances not going unnoticed and him ‘coveted’ by several teams in Europe as a result.
O Jogo go into a little more detail, explaining that Tottenham have been watching Ugarte for some time and had him scouted ‘closely’ both in Portugal and in Sporting’s clash with Arsenal in the Europa League.
One major issue is that they are yet to confirm their next manager, meaning that it ‘makes it difficult’ to define what they’ll do on the market at this point.
Should they wish to pursue Ugarte regardless, though, then they will find Sporting more than accepting of a potential sale.
They believe it is ‘certain’ that the player will leave this summer as the list of suitors grows and he continues to impress.
They’ve tried to get the player signed to a new deal to increase his release clause beyond the €60m figure currently in his deal but the player isn’t interested.
That has set up a potential exit and gives Tottenham their chance to get a player they’ve been watching for a while, although whether they’re willing to spend €60m remains to be seen.
