£53m player’s agent says he’s leaving, after claims Liverpool are about to bid

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Reported Liverpool target Manuel Ugarte is virtually certain to leave Sporting this summer.

That’s according to his agent, Jorge Chijane. Speaking to Portuguese outlet O Jogo this morning, Chijane confirmed that Ugarte’s next move will be tied up within the next two weeks or so.

“It is almost certain that he will not stay, it is certain that he will leave,” said the agent. “I’ll be in Lisbon soon. I trust Jorge Mendes, who is the best businessman in the world. In fact, when I first spoke to him at Ugarte, he said to me, ‘Your eyes are my eyes.'”

Chijane also directly addressed reported interest from Liverpool. Although he was coy on the subject, the agent did seemingly confirming that the Reds’ do indeed want to sign his client.

“Liverpool? There’s a lot of talk, but it’s not the only club, there are others,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk, but I’m still not sure about the club. There are many hypotheses on the table. I believe that in 15 days the situation will be resolved.”

Ugarte set to leave Sporting

This is pretty big news on this Thursday morning. It’s the first very clear indication that one of the players most linked with a move to Liverpool this summer has a good chance of joining.

Obviously, it isn’t an out-and-out admission that Ugarte will be a Red by the time the summer is through. But it does confirm Liverpool’s interest at the very least.

And if Liverpool are interested, then there shouldn’t be too much stopping them from getting a deal done. Firstly, as O Jogo once again confirm, they know that Ugarte has a release clause of around £53m. The Reds will probably try and get him for cheaper than that, but they know Sporting can’t ask for any more. That’s the limit.

Secondly, they have an ace up their sleeve in that they employ his countryman, Darwin Nunez. Liverpool will reportedly ask for Darwin’s opinion on signing Ugarte before doing so. But if – as expected – the recommendation is glowing, then that’s something else they could use to their advantage.

Clearly, they’re not the only ones who can employ this tactic. Tottenham are said to be another interested party, and they boast Ugarte’s Uruguay midfield partner, Rodrigo Bentancur.

But with the greatest of respect to Spurs, they don’t even have a manager right now. If a player is to pick between joining Tottenham and Liverpool right now, there’s surely only one winner. And it isn’t Spurs.

Anyway, expect to see some denials from Liverpool’s local journalists on this story. The club don’t like their business being outed in public, and fair enough. But quietly, we’re getting confident that this one could get boxed off.