"Better than Caicedo in my Books", "Wasting money" - Chelsea fans left stressed as Blues close in on €27 million rated midfielder

Chelsea fans were left fuming on Twitter after The Athletic journalist Adam Leventhal reported that the Blues reached a verbal agreement to sign Rennes midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu for €27 million.

Mauricio Pochettino and co. are currently in the market for a new defensive midfielder this summer. While their main transfer target is still Moises Caicedo, Chelsea have failed to match Brighton's reported valuation of £100 million so far.

The Blues may have found a cheaper alternative in Ligue 1 though. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano tweeted the following today:

"Chelsea have reached verbal agreement with Rennes for Lesley Ugochukwu, deal in place — personal terms agreed, long term contract. Ugochukwu will sign for Chelsea then talks will follow to decide about loan to Strasbourg. Fee around €27m, as @AdamLeventhal reports."

Ugochukwu made his professional debut for Ligue 1 club Rennes. The 19-year-old starlet has impressed since then, making 60 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal and providing one assist.

While the France U19 international may have a lot of potential, the Stamford Bridge faithful bemoaned his lack of experience and age on Twitter. Here are some of their reactions:

"Wasting money on players that have less than 10% chance of making it at Chelsea. A modernised version of the loan system I dreaded under the previous administration . Nonsense."

"We are doomed for this next 4 seasons to come we'll be lucky if we don't get relegated this season with this recruitment team, signing players that'll only be useful in the next 4 seasons....."

The likes of N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have already left Stamford Bridge this summer. Fans are desperate for adequate replacements to be brought in soon.

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Fulham leading race to sign Chelsea winger this summer: Reports

According to Football Insider, Fulham are leading the race to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi this summer. The England international's future at Stamford Bridge is uncertain with the Blues reportedly willing to part ways with him.

Hudson-Odoi's career has failed to take off for the Blues over the last couple of years. The 22-year-old has made 126 appearances in all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing 22 assists.

However, he struggled to integrate himself into the starting XI and was subsequently loaned to Bayer Leverkusen last summer. Unfortunately, an Achilles injury derailed his season and he was limited to just 21 appearances, failing to make much of an impact.

Fulham are currently in pole position to sign Hudson-Odoi. The only concern is if the Cottagers will be able to afford to pay his £180,000-a-week salary.