According to reports from Portugal, Liverpool are preparing to submit a first offer for Manuel Ugarte in the coming days.
The print edition of Record claimed (via Paisley Gates) that the Reds are advancing to secure the Uruguay midfielder’s signature this summer and will meet with representatives of his club Sporting Lisbon this week to lodge their opening bid.
The report stated that the 22-year-old has long been on the Anfield giants’ radar and is viewed by the Portuguese outfit as a ‘profitable asset’ who could yield a significant transfer sum, although his manager Ruben Amorim is keen to retain the player for at least another season.
Ugarte’s contract runs until 2026 and he’s valued at €60m (£52.2m) by his current employers.
This update from Record doubles down on a claim made in recent days by reliable transfer reporter Jacque Talbot, who told LFC Transfer Room that Liverpool are ‘really interested’ in the Uruguayan and had been ‘talking’ about him for two weeks, adding: ‘I’m pretty sure there must be something there’.
If the Reds can entice Sporting with their impending offer and the proposed deal eventually gets done, they’d be acquiring one of the steeliest midfielders currently playing in Europe.
As per FBref, Ugarte ranks in the top 1% of positional peers in the continent for both tackles (4.66) and interceptions (2.25) per game over the past 12 months, marking him out as a no-nonsense operator in the engine room at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
He’s not just a mere teak-tough ball winner, either. Once he gets possession, he doesn’t gift it to the opposition easily, his 91.5% passing success rate placing him among the 99th percentile for midfielders in Europe (FBref).
With statistics like those, it’s little wonder Liverpool seem so serious about trying to land the 22-year-old and are seemingly on the verge of making their move as they seek to bring him to Anfield. Sporting’s response could be quite interesting…
You can see a screenshot of the report from Record below, courtesy of Paisley Gates:
