Tottenham are reportedly interested in signing the Sporting Lisbon midfielder, Manuel Ugarte.
According to a report from Give Me Sport, the Premier League club will be actively monitoring the 21-year-old defensive midfielder during Uruguay’s World Cup campaign.
Ugarte has been quite impressive for the Portuguese club this season. Tottenham experienced his quality first-hand when they took on Sporting in the Champions League during the group stages earlier this season.
Journalist Pete O’Rourke has now claimed that Tottenham could look to sign the player but a deal could be difficult to conclude in January.
The London club might be forced to wait until the summer transfer window to sign the talented young midfielder.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “I think Tottenham scouts will be actively monitoring him at the World Cup, and although it might be hard to do a deal in January, it might be something that Spurs look at in the summer.”
Antonio Conte needs to add more depth and quality to his midfield, and the arrival of Ugarte will allow him to rotate his squad and keep his key players fresh.
The Italian manager has been overly reliant on Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
The South American midfielder has a release clause of €80 million and it is doubtful that Spurs will agree to pay that kind of money for Ugarte’s services.
The 21-year-old is still relatively inexperienced, and it will be interesting to see if Tottenham can negotiate a more reasonable fee for the youngster in the coming months.
The defensive midfielder is highly rated in Portugal and he has a big future ahead of him. Moving to Tottenham could help him improve further and playing alongside top-class players in the Premier League will only accelerate his development.