Chelsea are set to beat Paris Saint Germain in the battle to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
Both clubs are ready to trigger Ugarte’s £52m release clause - but Chelsea ’s financial package means they are supremely confident of signing him ahead of PSG.
Chelsea had been keen to spread the cost of the fee over three instalments but are now willing to pay the vast majority up front and their deal is more attractive than PSG.
Chelsea are also willing to pay FIFA solidarity payments - to cover the 22-year-old’s training costs - plus bonuses and add-ons as they look to gazump the French giants.
There is a feeling now that Chelsea will get their man as they believe they have effectively got an agreement with Sporting and they are close on personal terms. Sporting are also keen for Urgarte to move to Stamford Bridge as the financial package is better.
It is another remarkable deal for Chelsea who are huge pressure to sell this summer to balance the books and fall into line with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules and the Premier League ’s spending guidelines.
Chelsea’s new boss Mauricio Pochettino is a major fan of Ugarte and there is an intention to partner him with Enzo Fernandez in midfield.
That may also mean that Chelsea will cool their interest in Brighton ’s Moises Caicedo which would be a major boost for Arsenal who want him and Declan Rice.
Chelsea will begin the offloading process with the sale of Mason Mount to Manchester United. United have begun talks over the Mount deal and that would be a major step forward in their summer rebuilding plans.
Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic all look set to go as Chelsea begin another rebuilding process, having already spent over £600m under owner Todd Boehly’s regime.
