Forward Manfred Ugalde, who plays for the Netherlands Twente and the Costa Rica national team, has indicated he would not be happy continuing with his current club after receiving a bid from Moscow Spartak. This development was reported by Tubantia.
The report says Ugalde informed Twente’s management that he no longer wished to play for the club. Twente welcomed the news and consulted with the Royal Dutch Football Association, KNVB, to confirm there would be no legal barriers to a potential transfer to Russia.
Earlier, Spartak had lined up a move for forward Jesus Ferreira of Dallas, but that deal faced a blockade in the United States. MLS raised concerns about financial transactions involving Russian entities, and the KNVB assured Twente that Ugalde could move to Russia without issues.
At present, no final agreement has been reached between the clubs. Spartak is prepared to offer around 15 million euros for Ugalde, whose contract with Twente runs through the summer of 2027. Transfermarkt estimates the player’s market value at about 5 million euros.
In this season’s campaign, the striker has appeared in 25 matches across all competitions for Twente, recording 9 goals and 7 assists. He has six caps and one goal for the Costa Rican national team.
Spartak, competing in the Russian Premier League, sat in fifth place with 30 points after 18 weeks. The second half of the season is set to begin in March, with Spartak winning against Zenit St. Petersburg in the 19th round and preparing to play away at St. Petersburg.
The Chilean national team player, previously accused of violence against his ex-girlfriend, affected the RPL club.