CHELSEA have signed Lesley Ugochukwu from French club Rennes, the Premier League club have confirmed.
The young midfielder, who was born in France to Nigerian parents, put pen to paper on a long-term contract today that ties him to Chelsea until 2030.
“Chelsea has completed the signing of teenage midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu,” the club announced on their official website today.
“The 19-year-old joins on a seven-year contract, with a club option of a further year. He has moved from his hometown club Rennes, for whom he was a regular last season as they finished fourth in France’s Ligue 1 and made the knockout stage of the Europa League.”
The deal is believed to be worth €27m in transfer fee, with the midfielder likely to be loaned back to Rennes.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has said Ugochukwu will train with his new team-mates tonight in Chicago, United States of America to assess if he is ready to go straight into the first team.
“Today is going to be his first training session with us. He is a young and talented player. We don’t know if we have the possibility for him to play tomorrow but we will assess him,” Pochettino said.
“Now it is time to assess him until the end of the transfer window, and see if he is going to be with us or go on loan.”
Ugochukwu, who is a France Under-19 international, has regularly featured for the Rennes senior squad over the past two seasons and has made 67 appearances for the Ligue 1 club.
