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Is Ugochukwu the start of filling Chelsea’s midfield?

By Isha Mohan

Lesley Ugochukwu of Rennes during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Stade Rennais (Rennes) at Parc des Princes stadium on March 19, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Lesley Ugochukwu of Rennes during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Stade Rennais (Rennes) at Parc des Princes stadium on March 19, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /
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Rennes’ Lesley Ugochukwu fights for the ball with Krepin Diatta during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and AS Monaco at The Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on May 27, 2023. (Photo by FRED TANNEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Rennes’ Lesley Ugochukwu fights for the ball with Krepin Diatta during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and AS Monaco at The Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on May 27, 2023. (Photo by FRED TANNEAU/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea signs midfielder from Rennes

Chelsea have finalized the signing of the 2004 born midfielder, Lesley Ugochukwu, from Ligue 1 side, Rennes. The deal, reported by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, is set to be a long-term one worth £23.2 million with medical tests already scheduled.

Get to know Ugochukwu

Ugochukwu, who just turned 19 earlier this year, joined Ligue 1 team Rennes through their academy. His initial involvement with the senior team was as an unused substitute during the 2020 Champions League and has now made over 45 appearances for the club as a defensive midfielder.

While he is yet to make his debut for the senior French national team, he has made quite a mark with the Under-17, Under-18, and Under-19 teams.

Playing in Chelsea’s first team?

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed the need for more midfielders after losing Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Ngolo Kante this window. As the Blues are still searching for players to fill those spaces, keeping the youngster with the first team is the ideal option.

The Blues have shown interest in Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and are currently in a long-standing battle to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton. Brighton recently rejected their increased bid of £80 million from the initial £70 million, as they are sticking to their asking price of £100 million .

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However, the decision on whether Ugochukwu will stay with the first team for this season is yet to be made by Pochettino but it will be finalized in the coming days. The alternative would be to send Ugochukwu on loan to Ligue 1 side RC Strasbourg, where Chelsea holds a majority stake. This would also apply to Angelo Gabriel, who was brought in earlier this month and has already made a few appearances for Chelsea during the preseason games in the U.S.

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