Manchester United are on the verge of signing Manuel Ugarte, but Chelsea's reasoning for rejecting him may cause apprehension. The Uruguayan international is on his way to Old Trafford to complete a medical ahead of a big money move this summer.
Ugarte, 23, is set to wrap up a £51million switch from Paris Saint-Germain, one year after the Parisians beat the weest Londoners to his signature. His pending arrival will push Erik ten Hag's summer spending spree to an eye-watering £180m, having already secured the services of Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee.
Yet, Ugarte was close to becoming Mauricio Pochettino's first signing as Chelsea manager last season. Despite the Blues' reputation for eye-watering spending, they were startled by the finances involved with signing Ugarte.
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It was believed that Chelsea were ready to meet the £51m release clause set by his former club Sporting Lisbon. However, PSG outbid the Blues with an offer that Chelsea thought was far too much for the midfielder.
Portuguese publication Record also suggested that Chelsea had offered him a yearly wage of around £1.7m, reports the Mirror. In contrast, PSG allegedly proposed £4.3m in wages per season, before abruptly deciding to double their offer to £8.6m.
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano also claimed that Pochettino was reluctant to place Ugarte on a pedestal at Stamford Bridge by offering such wages, as he and the board felt it could potentially cause friction among other first-team players. Chelsea chose not to compete with such high figures and promptly shifted their focus.
The Blues instead broke the Premier League transfer record by signing Moises Caicedo for a whopping £115m, before spending an additional £53m to bring Romeo Lavia from Brighton & Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge. This decision indicates that they had significantly more faith in the former Southampton and Brighton stars.
Considering Chelsea's well known tendency for over-spending on players, United may wonder what Chelsea saw in Ugarte that convinced them not to sign him. Regardless, Ugarte's reputation has grown over the summer.
Despite some ups and downs with Luis Enrique at PSG, Ugarte demonstrated his talent at the recent Copa America. He featured in every game for Uruguay, who secured third place after defeating Canada in a penalty shootout. Ugarte's arrival is also likely to pave the way for Scott McTominay's departure, who is reportedly set to join Napoli in a £25m deal.
In central midfield, Ugarte will battle for a place with Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen as well as youngsters Toby Collyer and Daniel Gore.
