Arsenal ready to make bid for ‘irrepressible’ £70m South American midfielder

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Arsenal are keen on signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder, Manuel Ugarte, as Mikel Arteta makes plans for his summer recruitment drive.

According to a report from O’Jogo this weekend, Mikel Arteta is pushing the Arsenal board hard to try and sign Ugarte this summer. The Uruguayan was a part of the World Cup squad in the winter and has been a key man for Sporting this season.

Ugarte is also admired by North London rivals Tottenham. Indeed, it was only a few weeks back that reports claimed Spurs were considering making a big-money offer for the midfielder. Sporting are believed to want around £70m for Ugarte but there is a release clause closer to £52m in his current contract.

Arsenal are looking towards the summer as they look to continue their successful recruitment drive of recent windows.

Ugarte is seen as one of the most promising South American talents in Europe right now. Sporting have had another fantastic year, and the Uruguayan is among a number of players who could move onto bigger and better things.

Lauded as being an ‘irrepressible‘ talent by ESPN, Ugarte would add quality to an Arsenal midfield seriously lacking in quality numbers.

Arsenal remain keen on the likes of Declan Rice. However, Ugarte is among a number of targets being considered as well.

TBR’s View: Ugarte a quality young player

There is no doubting Manuel Ugarte’s quality. He looks every bit the accomplished midfield player and it’s easy to see why Arsenal like him.

The one big risk would be that coming from the Portuguese league to England can be hard. We’ve seen Fabio Vieira struggle in the main for Arsenal and he was a star over there.

If Arsenal can get Declan Rice, then that has to be the one they push through. However, Ugarte does look the part and wouldn’t be the worst alternative.