With Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur all hot on his heels, follow in the footsteps of Sergio Aguero is emerging as a genuine possibility for a striker who idolises the Manchester City legend.
Back in 2020, when offered the opportunity to sit under the City Football Group umbrella with a move to Belgian outfit Lommel, a centre-forward straight out of Central America was understandably thrilled at the prospect of future switch to the Etihad, donning the same sky blue shirt in which Sergio Aguero fired his way into the Premier League’s history books.
Nearly five years later, taking a rather round-a-bout route to the top of the European game, doors are finally opening up for Manfred Ugalde.
TBR Football can confirm that Manchester City have been alerted to Ugalde’s stunning form over in Russia with Spartak Moscow. After representing one of the City Football Group’s somewhat ‘lesser’ sides earlier in his somewhat nomadic career, the CFC’s headline institution are running the rule over him these days.
As are Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham. Newcastle United, Brentford, Brighton and Nottingham Forest too, not to mention countless clubs all across the continent.
A tally of 15 goals in 17 league starts will have that effect on your reputation. Ugalde was battling for starts at Eredivisie outfit FC Twente not so long ago, and the speed of his ascent will have come as a considerable shock to those who watched the Costa Rican start fewer than 30 matches in three seasons in Enschede.
Yet, even in his cameo role at Twente, there were signs of a very promising centre-forward for those with eyes to see. Ugalde’s movement and link-play stood out in the Netherlands. And, with the 22-year-old now adding a ruthless streak to his game over in Russia, the sky suddenly seems to be the limit.
Manfred Ugalde of FC Twente celebrates the second goal during the Dutch Eredivisie match between FC Twente and AZ at Grolsch Veste on January 13, 2...
Photo by Peter Lous/BSR Agency/Getty Images
Manfred Ugalde channels Sergio Aguero as Manchester City scout striker
“If you are a striker, you have to score a lot. Ugalde is a good striker, so everything works out for him,” Spartak Moscow teammate Theo Bongonda tells Euro Football.
“Perhaps [he is similar to] Aguero. But, overall, Manfred is one of a kind. He is a special player and a great person. I am sure he has a great future ahead of him.”
With the diminutive yet stocky frame of a featherweight boxer, instincts sharper than a barber’s blade and emphatic, almost brutal finishing, there is a distinctly Sergio Aguero-esque nature in the way Ugalde leads the line.
In Spartak’s 5-2 obliteration of Moscow neighbours Lokomotiv at the end of November, Ugalde hit the target four times in just 63 minutes. That four-goal haul was part of a run of nine in four Russian Premier League matches.
The first player in the tournament’s history ever to achieve such a feat.
His opener against Lokomotiv, meanwhile, was classic Ugalde. As the visiting goalkeeper dawdled on the ball, Ugarde came steaming in, blocking his clearance and sending it spinning into the net.
Barcelona move talked up as Liverpool and Tottenham eye Spartak Moscow star
“The best player of 2024 is Ugalde,” former Spartak forward Yuri Semin tells Sport24. “Firstly, a striker must score goals. He has scored more goals than anyone else.
“Secondly, he took criticism correctly, and there was a lot of it. Now, they have stopped questioning his qualities.”
TBR understands that Manfred Ugalde is available for £25 million due to a release clause in his deal. A release clause Spartak may regret including, although a bidding war could yet emerge due to the level of interest. One which could eventually go over and above said release clause.
“He is already worth 25 million euros, minimum. Any European club will buy him,” former Spartak director Alexander Shikunov argues, speaking to Sport Day.
Speculation has seen Ugalde linked with Spanish giants Barcelona. And while that may raise eyebrows, Shikunov points out that few expected Kvicha Kvaratskhelia to blossom into one of Europe’s elite wingers when the former Rubin Kazan starlet joined Napoli for just £9 million back in 2021.
“Anything can happen,” Shikunov adds. “[Robert] Lewandowski is an older footballer.
“We didn’t think that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would be at Napoli and half the world would be hunting for him. He moved to Napoli. Now, many clubs in England and Barcelona want to buy him for hundreds of millions.”
Ugalde, meanwhile, is not the only Aguero-like centre-forward on the radar of multiple Premier League clubs.
Besiktas teenager Semih Kilicsoy has been likened to the Man City legend too. Aston Villa saw their interest in Kilicsoy confirmed recently by former Besiktas chief – and one-time Villa goalkeeper – Brad Friedel.
Arsenal and Manchester City are watching the Turkey international too, according to Kilicsoy’s agent.
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