Chelsea appear to have won the race for Manuel Ugarte's signature, with the deal for the Sporting CP midfielder now "closed", according to recent reports from Portugal.

Who will Manuel Ugarte sign for?

There have been a number of Premier League clubs linked with a move for Ugarte, including Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, however, it has been reported the French side believe they are behind Chelsea in the race, and they have now started to look at other targets.

Tottenham Hotspur are also potential suitors for the Sporting CP star, as reported by journalist Rudy Galetti, while Liverpool were at one stage ready to pay his €60m (£52m) release clause, although all the signs now indicate Chelsea are now leading the race.

The Blues are said to have already agreed personal terms with the 22-year-old, with journalist Rob Pratley detailing that the last remaining obstacle is the structure of the transfer fee, with Todd Boehly being in favour of staggered payments.

According to a report from Record (via Sport Witness), the player himself has now chosen to move to Stamford Bridge, as he prefers a move to the Premier League, which has proven to be a major stumbling block for PSG.

The report states that the "deal is closed", meaning an announcement is presumably on the way, with Chelsea beating PSG and multiple Premier League sides to the Uruguayan's signature.

Will Ugarte be a good signing for Chelsea?

A deal for the central midfielder is seemingly very close, and it could be an excellent piece of business from the Blues, given that he was one of Sporting's best performers in the Liga Portugal last season, as per WhoScored.

The Uruguay international is particularly impressive defensively, registering an average of 3.9 tackles per game, by far and away the most of any player in the squad, while he also averaged the highest number of interceptions.

Hailed as "immense" by members of the media, the maestro is also fantastic at distributing the ball, ranking in the 99th percentile for his pass-completion rate per 90 over the past year, when compared to his positional peers playing at a similar level.

Chelsea appear to have lost out in the race for Declan Rice, due to the lack of Champions League football on offer at Stamford Bridge, but Ugarte could be the next best thing, given his strong defensive attributes and his impressive ability in possession of the ball.