Chelsea: 5 Midfield Alternatives For Manuel Ugarte | OneFootball

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed recently that Chelsea are now out of the race to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Manuel Ugarte this summer.

The maestro is now on the verge of joining French giants Paris Saint-Germain with personal terms already 100% agreed between the player and club.

This means that the Blues will now have to look at other options on the market for Ugarte, who seemed to be their number-one choice to partner Enzo Fernandez in their midfield.

The players in this list have been generated based on substantiated reporting, coupled with our opinion regarding who could fit the bill at Stamford Bridge.

Here are five alternatives Chelsea could look to sign now they have missed out on Manuel Ugarte.

5 Moises Caicedo, Brighton

According to talkSPORT, Chelsea will now turn to Moises Caicedo as a potential alternative to Ugarte, a player who hasn't been short of transfer interest this season.

The Ecuador international has shined bright for Brighton, helping the Seagulls achieve a place in Europe next season along the way.

This transfer story would make a lot of sense for both parties involved, and is possibly the most likely on this list of coming to fruition for the Blues.

4 Romeo Lavia, Southampton

Again, talkSPORT have linked Southampton youngster Romeo Lavia with a move to Chelsea after the club failed in their efforts to sign Ugarte.

Lavia will likely want to leave the Saints this summer after the club were relegated to the Championship after a less-than-impressive Premier League campaign.

The midfielder also fits the profile for the kind of talent the Blues have been moving for in the most recent transfer window, adding fuel to the fire that a transfer could be on.

3 Declan Rice, West Ham

Rice has long been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge and would seemingly slot into things at the London club with relative ease.

The midfielder was at Chelsea during his youth and was notoriously let go of, something which the Chelsea hierarchy must be kicking themselves for.

Nevertheless, a report fromFootball London claimed that Rice may choose other clubs over Chelsea due to them not qualifying for the UEFA Champions League this season.

2 Youssouf Fofana, AS Monaco

According to a recent report from The Daily Star, Chelsea are set to start a bidding war with Liverpool over AS Monaco star Youssouf Fofana.

With Mason Mount's future at Stamford Bridge still very unclear, new head coach Mauricio Pochettino will likely have to explore a fair few options on the market to bolster his engine room.

The Daily Star report claims that Fofana would be available for as little as £25 million, an absolute steal in today's inflated market.

1 Arsen Zakharyan, Dynamo Moscow

Chelsea have long been linked with Dynamo Moscow youngster Arsen Zakharyan, however, 90min reported that a bid to sign the maestro has stalled in recent times.

This doesn't mean that a deal for the 20-year-old couldn't be revived at some point this summer and the youngster certainly has the attributes and talent to flourish in the Premier League.