Do Chelsea need Manuel Ugarte after £105m Enzo Fernandez signing?

James Shearman

• Updated: 30 May 2023 07:29 BST
• 4 min read

Mauricio Pochettino has given Chelsea the green light to make their first summer signing, with the Blues set to splash out €60 million on Manuel Ugarte.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Pochettino is keen to add the Sporting CP midfielder to the Blues squad ahead of next season.

FootballTransfers exclusively revealed Chelsea's interest in the player on 3 May - and they remain insistent on signing the player.

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The Uruguay international has already been associated with PSG this summer, with the Ligue 1 champions having reportedly matched the player’s release clause of €60 million in order to trigger contract talks. Reports from Portugal even claimed the deal was done.

But Chelsea had the opportunity to respond and have reportedly taken that, with Pochettino okaying the deal.

Romano stresses that the player has yet to make a decision over his future.

Do Chelsea need Manuel Ugarte and Enzo Fernandez?

Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January for a deal worth £105m.

Fernandez was meant to be the answer to the Blues' midfield problems so why are they trying to sign another one?

Well, it has nothing to do with the Argentine's performances. In fact, he has been brilliant in a terrible Chelsea side.

The reason is that Fernandez has been made to play deeper than he would like, even though he is still excellent in that role.

The World Cup winner's passing ability and vision means he is capable of creating chances in the final third.

So, to allow him the freedom to do this, Chelsea need to sign a holding midfielder that will happily stay back and protect the defence.

That will be Ugarte's job if he is signed by the west London club.