Sport nationEverton Interested in Signing Lesley Ugochukwu from Chelsea
Everton is interested in signing midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu from Chelsea, according to TEAMtalk. The online publication reported on August 15 that the Toffees are “stepping up their quest” to sign a new midfielder before the transfer window ends.
Sean Dyche’s side is tracking the former France U21 international, who Chelsea has told can leave Stamford Bridge to find a new club. Chelsea is willing to sanction a loan deal for the 20-year-old, which would suit Everton, who have limited funds to spend for the rest of the window.
Ugochukwu made the move to West London just over a year ago from Stade Rennes but has only made 15 appearances since then. This is made all the more strange given that he cost £23.2m from the Ligue 1 club.
It seems that former manager Mauricio Pochettino didn’t rate or completely trust the youngster to start or even feature regularly. Just three starts were all the defensive-minded midfielder was afforded despite a poor season overall for Chelsea.
This situation could provide Everton with the perfect opportunity to bring in a young player with high potential on loan or even on a cut-price permanent deal. Dyche hasn’t got much to spend on potential new signings given the uncertainty surrounding the ownership situation at Goodison.
An initial loan deal for Ugochukwu could prove to be a smart piece of business as an alternative option to the likes of Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure. In other Everton news, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth are providing competition for the Vitor Roque transfer.
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