Signing players won’t be easy for Newcastle United this summer.
While Champions League qualification invariably opens doors the club would have previously found locked, Newcastle are not the only team looking to strengthen.
Indeed, with financial landscape of the game seeing most of the wealth stored at Premier League clubs, battles between two English teams for a potential signing this summer hardly look out of the question.
Which brings us to Sporting Lisbon midfielder, Manuel Ugarte.
Reportedly a player Newcastle intend to bid £52m for, the interest of Chelsea could complicate matters.
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Manuel Ugarte now prefers Chelsea move
In fact, reports in Portugal suggest it is Chelsea who the midfielder prefers.
Record claim the Uruguay international and super-agent Jorge Mendes have met with Blues officials and the 22-year-old is eager to join.
There is, however, yet another facet to consider.
The report also suggests Paris Saint-Germain are interested and are prepared to offer him more in the way of wages.
Newcastle must be careful to avoid a bidding war
Clearly, the temptation amongst some supporters circles will surely be to spend big money to land big names this summer.
Though that’s all well and good, it’s not something Newcastle have done haphazardly since the takeover.
The Daily Mail have already claimed the club are not willing to completely rip up their wage structure and starting to get mixed up in a bidding war with the likes of PSG and Chelsea hardly looks conducive to maintaining that strategy.
Newcastle, at some point, will have to start upping the wages but doing so in one rash move this summer could be a problem.
Many of the current squad who have taken the club so far are expected to stay this summer and to start breaking the bank so quickly may put a few noses out of joint.
Ugarte has plenty of big offers it seems. Newcastle might need to look elsewhere.