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Young Chelsea striker Ike Ugbo has left the club, and this time for good. After four years of various loans of varying success, the 22-year-old has decided to continue his career at KRC Genk in the Belgian top flight. He has signed a 4-year contract through 2025 and will wear the No. 21 shirt.
Genk, whom we might remember as the team from where we signed Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois a decade ago, are reportedly paying about £3m up front, with another £2-3m or so in add-ons tied to Champions League group stage qualification. We might have also inserted a 20 per cent sell-on clause in the deal.
Welkom, ́ !
— KRC Genk (@KRCGenkofficial) August 24, 2021
Trefzekere centrumspits
Contract voor vier seizoenen, tot de zomer van 2025
Komt over van @ChelseaFC
▶️ https://t.co/dEuPnlLvN4#krcgenk #mijnploeg pic.twitter.com/NaDI1ElYoE
Ugbo had been with Chelsea since before age 10, growing up at the Academy and finding great success especially at the U18 and U19 levels. That led to a few different loans in England, in the second and third divisions, but those proved perhaps a bit too much too soon. Ugbo would recover his form at Roda JC in the Dutch second division two seasons ago, and build on that with a successful loan last season at Cercle Brugge in the Belgian first division — to where he now returns, with a much better team, and much bigger ambitions.
Good luck, Ike! Perhaps we’ll meet some day in the Champions League!