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Lesley Ugochukwu has explained his decision to leave Stade Rennais for Chelsea in the recently concluded summer transfer window.
The Blues raised a few eyebrows by paying €27 million for a relatively unknown teenager from Ligue 1. Before his move to Stamford Bridge, he made 60 senior appearances across competitions for the French club after joining their academy in 2012.
Given his age and relative inexperience at the top level, Ugochukwu could find it tough to nail a spot in Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino's XI. Some may feel that a move to Chelsea has come a bit too early in the 19-year-old's career.
However, the Rennes-born Frenchman has given a simple explanation behind his decision to join the Blues. He says that the chance to join a club of Chelsea's stature doesn't come around often.
Ugochukwu said (via Le Parisien journalist Benjamin Quarez):
"When someone tells me you're young, why did you go to Chelsea, I answer that there are trains that don't pass twice."
The 1.90-meter-tall midfielder can play as a No. 8 but has largely played as a defensive midfielder. He will have Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez to compete with for the No. 6 position at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino's reaction to Chelsea signing Lesley Ugochukwu
Mauricio Pochettino wasn't too thrilled after Chelsea announced the arrival of Lesley Ugochukwu in late July on a seven-year deal.
The Argentine tactician, in fact, made it clear that the teenager was a signing made by the club and not him. He also suggested that the defensive midfielder could join another club on loan — something that did not happen before the September 1 transfer deadline.
After learning of the Frenchman's arrival, 'Poch' said in July (h/t Metro):
"I think we’re still talking about we need an experienced midfielder, yes. I don’t know the information that you have.
"My information is that he’s a player from France that they have signed maybe with the idea to send on loan, you know, using a different club – but that information was already in your laptop."
The Blues went on to spend a combined £173 million to sign Moises Caicedo (£115 million) and Romeo Lavia from Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton, respectively. Those two midfielders have at least one season of Premier League football behind them.
However, Pochettino hasn't been against giving Ugochukwu a run in the first team. He played the full 90 minutes in his team's 2-1 EFL Cup second-round win against AFC Wimbledon and has made two league appearances for his new club.
On both occasions, though, he came on as a late substitute, in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool and the 3-0 win against Luton Town.
