Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham ‘actively monitoring’ target at World Cup, with steps towards a transfer to follow

Manuel Ugarte, Uruguay, February 2020

Tottenham will be “actively monitoring” a midfield target at the World Cup, as one insider thinks they will attempt to strike in the summer.

Antonio Conte has added some top talents to the Tottenham squad during his time as manager. It would be fair to say that Dejan Kulusevski has been the best of them.

The Swede has been directly involved in 19 goals in 32 games for Spurs. While he has been one of the main headline grabbers, many of Conte’s additions have slotted nicely into the side.

The Italian has added quality to pretty much each area of the pitch. That has been positive for Tottenham, as they finished fourth last season, and are currently fourth this term.

Conte will be keen on following suit and adding more players that fit his side over the next few transfer windows. He will hope that will allow his side to keep trending in the right direction.

The manager has recently spoken about his desire to “improve”, both on and off the pitch, pointing to some signings.

One player that has been linked with a move to north London is Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan has had some positive showings for Sporting Lisbon over the past couple of seasons.

He is yet to miss a game for the Portuguese side this season, and his outings against Spurs in the Champions League have likely accelerated their interest.

Spurs watching Ugarte at World Cup

Ugarte is currently at the World Cup with Uruguay. He has received six caps for his country, five of which came in their last seven games.

As such, while he did not play in Uruguay’s opener against South Korea, he may be in line for an outing in one of the next couple of games.

Tottenham will be watching him intently, with a view to a potential signing, thinks insider Pete O’Rourke.

“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,” he told GIVEMESPORT.

Complications could come if Spurs do wait that long, though. Lisbon are reportedly keen on offering their midfielder a new contract, which would include a release clause in the region of £70million.

Whether Spurs are able to act in January remains to be seen. However, that may be the best course of action to snare the Uruguayan.

Spurs have a decent amount of talent in their midfield already. Indeed, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur have formed a good partnership since the latter joined from Juventus in January.

Yves Bissouma was signed from Brighton over the summer. However, he has appeared sparingly during his time at the club.

As such, Ugarte could leapfrog him in the pecking order, and could push his way into the reckoning for a starting spot if he does join.

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