Chelsea have completed the signing of teenage French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu from Rennes for £23.5m.
The 19-year-old moves to Stamford Bridge after agreeing a seven-year contract, with the option of a further year.
Ugochukwu is predominantly a defensive midfielder and made 67 senior appearances for Rennes, who finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the Europa League.
After his move was confirmed, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: ‘We’re delighted Lesley is joining Chelsea. He is an impressive young player who has already made his mark in Ligue 1.
‘He has a huge amount of potential and we know he is going to continue to develop and improve. We are pleased that he has joined us in the US (on the club’s pre-season tour) and that he will be able to integrate with the squad quickly.’
Chelsea have completed the signing of midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu from Rennes for £23.5m
The France Under 19 international has penned a seven-year deal at the club upon arrival
Mail Sport had reported last Saturday how the two clubs had settled on a deal worth around £23m for the France under-19 international.
His signing comes at a time when Chelsea are low on central midfielders after losing five from last season’s squad during the summer.
Though Chelsea have also been trying to find an agreement with Brighton for Moises Caicedo and remain interested in Southampton’s Romeo Lavia to bolster that department of their squad, loaning Ugochukwu out to their partner club Strasbourg to continue his development is also an option.
A temporary move away is perhaps most likely given Mauricio Pochettino’s comments on Sunday and spiky response when questioned on Ugochukwu’s pending arrival.
Pochettino is keen to bring in a more experienced options in that area of the pitch and after Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Fulham which saw them crowned winners of the inaugural, pre-season Premier League Summer Series trophy, head coach Pochettino said: ‘I don’t know the information that you have.
‘My information is he is a player that is from France that maybe they are signing with the idea to send on some loan, using a different club but that information was already in your laptop.
‘There is nothing to say too much.’
Ugochukwu joined Rennes’ youth system at the age of eight and made his debut at 17, becoming the club’s fourth youngest debutant in the process.
His ball-winning abilities and quality in possession are among his major strengths and he racked up 35 appearances in all competitions last season.
Ugochukwu is likely to head out on loan despite Chelsea’s lack of current options in midfield
He is the latest signing for the club since Mauricio Pochettino took charge back on July 1
He has so far netted just one career goal, against Saint-Etienne in a Ligue 1 game back in 2021.
Chelsea’s signing of up and coming Under 21 prospects has been a feature of their transfer business under the Todd Boehly-led regime.
Ogochukwu will join a list that already includes goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, midfielders Cesare Casadei, Andrey Santos, and Carney Chukwuemeka, wingers Diego Moreira, Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards plus striker David Datro Fofana.
Chelsea also agreed a deal with Independiente del Valle to sign highly-rated Ecuadorian midfielder Kendry Paez who cannot join the club until after he is 18 in May 2025.
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