Chelsea's new manager Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be pushing hard for his board to secure a deal for the Sporting CP midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

How old is Manuel Ugarte?

The west London side have had a season which they will want to forget in a hurry having finished 12th in the table and on just 44 points.

Failing to even break the 50-point mark is an indication of how much work is needed behind the scenes at Cobham this summer and they have set the wheels into motion already.

Indeed, Pochettino has finally been announced as their new manager and the Argentine is likely to have some huge decisions to make on who will make his squad for the new campaign.

Under Todd Boehly's ownership, the Blues have developed a bloated squad which has proven difficult for Graham Potter and Frank Lampard to manage.

And it seems as if this summer will see a number of players allowed to move on as the Argentine looks to thin out his squad and put his time into the players he actually wants.

However, this is not to say Chelsea will not be looking to bring in some new players with the Uruguayan midfielder believed to be high on their radar.

Speaking on his Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano has provided an insight on just how much Pochettino is believed to be wanting the 22-year-old:

"Also for Chelsea, important to say that they are still pushing to sign Manuel Ugarte from Sporting. Chelsea and PSG there is a big fight between these two clubs.

"PSG are prepared to pay the €60m (£52m) release clause with different payment terms. Chelsea are offering the same."

"So the discussion is ongoing but Chelsea are really pushing for Ugarte and, from what I understand, Mauricio Pochettino is really pushing internally to sign him he considers him as a benefit player for their idea."

How much does Ugarte earn at Sporting?

Midfield is by no means an area which Chelsea are short in numbers considering they added the £106.8m Enzo Fernandez in the January window.

However, if the likes of Conor Gallagher are to move on over the summer, then perhaps this is an area which has to be addressed.

And it is not just Gallagher who has been linked with a potential exit, Romano has also claimed Manchester City have been granted permission to discuss a potential move for Mateo Kovacic.

Adding to all of this, the future of N'Golo Kante also remains up in the air with the Frenchman coming to the end of his contract in a matter of weeks.

Pochettino's time at Tottenham Hotspur showed the league what he could achieve with young players and this could be a promising indication for Boehly.

Although there is a lot of work to be done at Chelsea to reduce the size of their squad, it will surely be apparent to the owners that they need to provide their new manager with some players of his choice.

Adding the £18.8k-per-week Ugarte to Pochettino's options will be a promising start to his return to England, however, it will likely be just one of many additions he will be aiming for.