Liverpool have reportedly touched base with Sporting Lisbon to discuss a summer move for midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
The Reds are expected to focus on engine room additions for the 2023-24 season after holding off on splashing the cash on a big-name midfielder for the past couple of windows.
Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham was initially at the top of their shortlist, but his £130m price tag has made a move unfeasible for the Reds, who have now dropped their interest.
As a result, Liverpool are searching high and low for cheaper alternatives, and according to O Jogo, Sporting fulcrum Ugarte has emerged as an ideal target.
The 22-year-old has gone from strength to strength under Ruben Amorim since leaving Famalicao in 2021, scoring one goal and setting up three more in 83 matches in all tournaments for Sporting.
© Reuters
Ugarte has set up one goal in 43 games from a deep-lying role in the current season, starting all six of Sporting's Champions League group-stage matches and seeing them through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, despite being sent off in the second leg of their last-16 win over Arsenal.
The 2001-born midfielder won the Taca da Liga with Sporting last season and earned a call-up to the Uruguay squad for the 2022 World Cup, although he did not play a single minute at the tournament.
Ugarte is contracted to the Portuguese giants until the summer of 2026, but the report states that he will be allowed to leave this summer so long as his €60m (£53.1m) release clause is met.
Ugarte's combative style is understood to be admired by Jurgen Klopp, but Liverpool will need to move quickly to strike a deal for the widely-admired Uruguayan.
The likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Leeds United and Aston Villa are believed to have watched Ugarte against Arsenal in the Europa League, but only the Magpies are considered realistic rivals to Liverpool for his signature.
© Reuters
With Tottenham facing managerial uncertainty and Leeds fighting to stave off relegation from the Premier League, neither team is expected to emerge as serious contenders this summer.
On the other hand, Newcastle's expected Champions League qualification and lucrative takeover could put the Magpies at the head of the queue, with Liverpool lying seventh in the table, four places and nine points better off than Klopp's side.
Liverpool will lose Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain when their contracts expire at the end of the season, while Arthur will return to Juventus at the end of his underwhelming loan spell.
James Milner's deal only runs until the end of June as well, and the 37-year-old is being linked with a free transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion, despite Klopp's wish to keep him at Anfield.
Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Joao Palhinha have also been named as potential midfield incomings for Liverpool, but Nicolo Barella - another rumoured target - apparently has no interest in leaving Inter Milan.
Ben Knapton
