Official: Chelsea sign Lesley Ugochukwu from Stade Rennais

Proving that despite the constant, wall-to-wall churn of the transfer rumor mill, it is still possible to sign players without much attention until it is almost time for the announcements, Chelsea have today announced the signing of Lesley Ugochukwu from Stade Rennais. That’s a name we first heard about 48 hours ago.

And the transfer fee involved is not a negligible sum either — reportedly €27.5m!

Ugochukwu, who’s followed in the footsteps of Eduardo Camavinga at Rennes, made 35 appearances last season, though only about half of those were starts. He played mostly as a defensive or holding midfielder (a “No.6”), and we could certainly use one of those! But he may be (probably is) earmarked already for a loan to RC Strasbourg (or wherever). For now, he’s joined up with the rest of the traveling squad in the USA.

“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 U.S and that he will be able to integrate with the squad quickly.”

-Laurence Stewart & Paul Winstanley; source: Chelsea FC

In any case, welcome, Lesley! Let’s win some things!