The kind of players Newcastle United will be chasing this summer will not be easy to capture.
Having made rapid-fire progress under Eddie Howe, Newcastle could soon be a Champions League team.
With that means the club have to track some of the biggest names in the game as they look to make an impact in Europe’s elite club competition.
While that is an exciting thought, it’s undoubtedly a task for the recruitment staff.
As you move up the markets, competition only increases and signings invariably become more difficult to pull off.
Which could well be happening with Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
Chelsea keen on move for Manuel Ugarte
Indeed, the Evening Standard claim Chelsea are the latest club to have shown an interest in the 22-year-old.
The Uruguay international is believed to have a £53m release clause in his contract in the Portuguese capital and has been linked with a move to Newcastle.
Still, it is claimed that the Blues, who are expected to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, is ready to give his verdict on potential signings at Stamford Bridge and the “exciting” Ugarte is on the list.
Competition isn’t anything new for Newcastle
Newcastle managed to sign both Bruno Guimaraes and Sven Botman despite interest from Arsenal and AC Milan respectively even before they embarked on the upward trajectory of this season.
Potentially playing in the Champions League next term and having already reached a domestic cup final under Howe’s watch, the club have only got more attractive since then.
While that’s not to suggest signing players like Ugarte is necessarily going to be easy, there is at least a precedent when it comes to pulling off those kind of deals.
Yes, the idea of competing with the likes of Chelsea is daunting but there are reasons to be confident.
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