Chelsea talks with Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte have 'accelerated' at a swift speed ahead of the forthcoming transfer window, according to journalist Dean Jones.
What's the latest transfer news involving Manuel Ugarte?
As per Football Insider, Chelsea have scouted Ugarte on several occasions and are said to be in the 'driving seat' to bring the Sporting Lisbon enforcer to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The report states that the Blues will meet his £52 million release clause, though they may try to formulate some sort of installment package to acquire Ugarte if it is a viable route to go down.
90min also detail Chelsea's interest in Ugarte and have claimed that Paris Saint-Germain also child a strong attraction towards the Uruguay international.
It is believed that bringing in a new midfielder has been a main priority for the Blues even before the arrival of new boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Portuguese publication Record have indicated that Chelsea may be willing to include the services of young striker David Datro Fofana on loan to do a deal for Ugarte.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Jones has been taken aback by how quickly Chelsea's pursuit of Ugarte has progressed over the last few days.
Jones said: "It's certainly accelerated faster than I anticipated, to be honest. We'll now have to see how quickly it can continue to move forward and what the momentum is.
"We know Chelsea are interested, but the rate at which this has been moving forward makes me think that they're keen to get it done very quickly."
Would Manuel Ugarte be a good signing for Chelsea?
Ugarte has been in excellent form for Sporting Lisbon this term and would help to shore up Chelsea's midfield as they enter into a new era at Stamford Bridge with Pochettino at the helm.
In 2022/23, the £16k-a-week ace has featured 47 times in all competitions for his current employers, registering a solitary assist in the process, as per Transfermarkt.
WhoScored demonstrate that Ugarte is also an extremely safe presence in possession and has achieved a pass success rate of 91.6% this campaign in the Primeira Liga, something which could help Chelsea to dominate the ball for long spells in 2023/24.
FBRef also determine that the former Famalicao star fares well compared to his positional peers in Europe's eight divisions below the top five leagues on the continent in the art of number of players tackled, with Ugarte managing to successfully come out on top in 4.63 challenges per 90 minutes over the last 365 days, putting him in the first percentile for this metric.
With Chelsea needing a serious rebuild this summer, bringing in Ugarte could be a masterstroke of a signing in west London that could add some bite to Pochettino's engine room moving forward.