‘I can tell you’ – Insider drops behind the scenes Chelsea transfer update

Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that it was indeed Mauricio Pochettino who blocked a monster move for Manuel Ugarte this summer.

A few weeks ago it looked as if Stamford Bridge was going to be the landing spot for the Uruguayan international with Chelsea said to be in advanced talks with the player and Sporting Lisbon, but he is now edging closer to PSG.

It was a quite sensational turn of events with Ugarte’s head seemingly being turned by PSG’s huge chequebook, perhaps expecting Chelsea to match their salary offer, but that was never forthcoming with Pochettino at the helm.

The Argentinian boss is clearly already putting his foot down at Stamford Bridge and wants a stop to the ridiculous splurge of money being spent by owner Todd Boehly – over £500 million has been sanctioned so far – and this could be exactly what the Blues need.

According to Romano, when it was revealed that PSG had offered Ugarte significantly more money in terms of wages, Pochettino was adamant that Chelsea were not going to watch that and insisted that large sums of money were not to be spent on one single player this summer and increase an already bloated squad.

Paris Saint-Germain will start paying the €60m release clause of Manuel Ugarte to Sporting next year, in summer 2024 — payment will be made in five years. 🔴🔵 #PSG

Ugarte will be unveiled today as PSG player on five year deal. pic.twitter.com/ardIbNAeqw

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 5, 2023

“Manuel Ugarte will be a PSG player,” Romano claimed on his YouTube channel. “I can tell you that almost one week ago when Chelsea were close to signing Manuel Ugarte before PSG returned into the deal and reached an agreement with that player.

“I can tell you that Mauricio Pochettino was always involved in the conversations with the Chelsea board. Of course, Pochettino will be in the market this summer with the board, when Chelsea told him we’re not going to make another bid to the player because the idea is not to match PSG’s salary proposal.

“But, also the position of Mauricio Pochettino was like okay, Ugarte’s a great player but we don’t want to enter into any sort of crazy proposals to players.”

It’s quite reassuring for Chelsea fans to see that they’ve now got a manager who can help guide their rather inexperienced board in the transfer market by indicating when enough is enough to bid for a certain player as they will now likely avoid wasting money on talent which isn’t necessary.