Chelsea transfer news: Club hold talks with Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte

Chelsea have held talks over signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who is thought to have a €60m release clause.

Ugarte’s contract is up in 2026 and Sporting head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted it will be “difficult to keep players like Ugarte” following the failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Having announced the signature of Mauricio Pochettino as their new boss on Monday, Chelsea are believed to be targeting a goalkeeper, midfielder and striker in the summer window.

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PSG are also interested in signing the 22-year-old Uruguay international.

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Sky Sports’ Paul Gilmour speaks on Mauricio Pochettino’s experience from Paris Saint-German and believes his time managing elite players in Paris will help him with Chelsea’s expensive squad

The 51-year-old Argentine, who returns to the Premier League following previous spells in charge of Tottenham and Southampton, permanently succeeds Graham Potter, who was dismissed at the start of April after less than seven months in charge.

Frank Lampard, who led Chelsea on a caretaker basis until the end of the season following Potter’s sacking, has left the club.

Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino will form part of Pochettino’s coaching staff at Stamford Bridge.

Move makes sense – but neither party can afford failure

Sky Sports’ Joe Shread:

“While Mauricio Pochettino will no doubt be excited to return to the Premier League and Chelsea will be delighted to have secured a manager of his pedigree, there is a lot riding on the Argentine’s appointment – for both parties.

“Unusually for a manager whose previous Premier League stint ended with him being sacked by Tottenham nearly four years ago, Pochettino’s stock remains high in the top flight, with Spurs’ regression since his exit helping to explain why.

“But while the 51-year-old is rightly praised for the work he did at Spurs, culminating in their first Champions League final in 2019, he ultimately failed to bring any long-awaited silverware to north London during his five-year spell in charge – the kind of record that won’t be tolerated at Chelsea.

“Pochettino did end his personal trophy drought at Paris Saint-Germain, winning the French Cup in 2021 and Ligue 1 a year later, but he was also sacked by the French giants and has been out of work since last summer.

“That’s a long time for an elite coach to be away from the day-to-day of club management, while the fact that Unai Emery was still at Arsenal and Frank Lampard had only just begun his first spell in charge of Chelsea at the point of Pochettino’s Spurs exit shows how long he has been away from the Premier League.

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Melissa Reddy believes Mauricio Pochettino would be a successful appointment for Chelsea, insisting that the Blues needs purpose and direction after a shaky season

“The pressure on Pochettino is clear – but it weighs even heavier on the shoulders of his new employers. Since their takeover last summer, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have overseen one of the most chaotic and unsuccessful seasons in Chelsea’s recent history.

“After seeing their decision to sack Champions League-winning head coach Thomas Tuchel and replace him with Graham Potter spectacularly backfire, the owners need Pochettino – who will be the fifth person to take charge of a Chelsea match in less than 12 months – to justify their faith.”