Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte is currently leaving Sporting CP for another club in Europe, despite momentarily appearing to be on the verge of joining Liverpool.
Sporting CP were anticipated to maintain their position on his asking price due to the €60 million release clause in his contract, even though his representative told the publication O Jogo he was “sure he’ll leave.”
According to the Portuguese daily, the deal “is closed,” with Ugarte committing to a five-year contract and PSG set to activate his release clause.
Despite interest from the Premier League, L’Equipe in France reports that the trade is “very advanced” and that those close to the matter “no longer have any doubts.”
PSG has allegedly “already reached an agreement” with the player, who will be their first acquisition of the summer, according to RMC Sport, another French media site.
Given that it is unclear whether Ugarte was ever on the club’s radar, it is debatable whether this development can be regarded a setback for Liverpool.
In order to raise the visibility of discussions about his future and possibly even alert clubs like PSG to his availability, the well-publicized need for midfield signings was leveraged.
This won’t be the only instance of this over the course of a protracted summer transfer season, and deals may instead materialize out of nowhere, as has frequently happened with the Reds’ recruitment.
Reliable sources on Merseyside have previously mentioned Mason Mount, Ryan Gravenberch, Matheus Nunes, Romeo Lavia, Joao Palhinha, Alex Scott, and Khephran Thuram as midfield targets for Liverpool.
The Ugarte was not, in reality, a target for the Reds, according to Neil Jones of GOAL earlier this month, who claimed Alexis Mac Allister was their first objective.
Since then, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Aston Villa have all been mentioned in connection with the 22-year-old, but according to Correio da Manha, he is now joining Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool was reportedly in negotiations to sign Ugarte at the end of April, and scouts were reportedly keeping tabs on his development in Lisbon.
