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Chelsea look like they will lose out on their attempt to sign Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon this summer.
They were prepared to trigger the £52 million release clause in his contract, along with PSG, and initially the Portuguese side had indicated they only wanted him to join the Premier League club.
The West London club were prepared to offer him the type of long-term contract that they offered to the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernández, although UEFA have since tightened the rules and do not allow contract offers of more than five years, at least as far as accounting is concerned.
Given that Chelsea are now no longer able to amortise his contract over such a long period, they have decided to pull out of the deal, deeming it too expensive.
Although Ugarte is thought to have preferred a Premier League switch, PSG can offer him European football next season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.