Portuguese pundit thinks summer exit is ‘inevitable’ for reported Spurs target

Former Sporting Lisbon winger Jorge Amaral believes that the Portuguese club will not be able to stop Manuel Ugarte from leaving amidst Tottenham’s interest.

Ugarte only established himself as a regular in Sporting’s starting lineup at the start of the season but the midfielder has already evolved into one of the club’s most consistent performers and a leader on the pitch.

He is seemingly one of the most sought-after players in the Portuguese top flight, with Tottenham thought to be one of the clubs who are eyeing a summer move for the 22-year-old.

In fact, the print edition of O Jogo (29/04/23 as relayed by Sport Witness) claimed last week that Sporting expect the midfielder to leave after failing in their efforts to tie him down to a new deal.

It was explained that Ugarte has a release clause of €60m (£52.6m) in his contract and that Tottenham are expected to push ahead with a move for the player once they have a new head coach in place.

Spurs are not the only Premier League club who reportedly have their eye on the Sporting star, with Uruguayan journalist Rodrigo Romano revealing a couple of days ago that Liverpool had also enquired about the youngster’s availability.

Amaral does not believe that Ugarte will be at Jose Alvalade Stadium at the start of next season.

The 52-year-old told Radio Renascenca (as relayed by O Jogo): “Looking at what Ugarte has done, it’s likely that his departure is inevitable. All it takes are the millions from England.”

Spurs Web Opinion

We saw during the Pedro Porro transfer just how difficult Sporting are to negotiate with and it seems likely that the Portuguese club would not let Ugarte leave unless his release clause is met.

I am not sure if Spurs or any other Premier League club would be ready to pay more than £50m for the 22-year-old.

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