'I want to be aggressive' - Chelsea starlet Ugochukwu reveals the kind of midfielder he wants to be 

France U21 international of Nigerian descent, Lesley Ugochukwu has described the type of midfielder he wants to be, saying he wants to be aggressive and win balls back. 

Ugochukwu, nephew of retired Nigeria international defender Onyekachi Apam, joined Chelsea at the start of August, signing a seven-year contract, with a club option of a further year to end his association with hometown club Rennes. 

It was initially speculated that the Super Eagles-eligible player would be joining Chelsea-owned Strasbourg on loan for the entirety of the 2023-2024 season but manager Mauricio Pochettino was impressed with what he saw and decided to keep the talented midfielder in the first team after monitoring him at close quarters. 

Ugochukwu has been named in every single matchday squad announced by Pochettino including this afternoon's Premier League meeting with Brentford at Stamford Bridge, and it's a testament to how highly he's rated by the Argentine football tactician.

At 19, the French-Nigerian youngster is not yet a finished product and has admitted that he's learning from some of the best midfielders in the Premier League in the shape of Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo and Conor Gallagher.

Speaking to Chelsea's matchday programme for today's game against Brentford, Ugochukwu said: "I want to be the kind of midfielder that you want to have in your team.

"I want to be aggressive, win balls, push the team forward. I think I’m in a good place now. We have good midfielders and I’m ready to gain my place and to learn with players like them."

He continued: "‘I would say the intensity is the thing I have noticed most about English football. Every time, if you go to try and score a goal but you miss a chance, the other team will directly go up the other end. It goes up and down, you know?

"So I would say that, plus the aggression, are what I’ve noticed. But that’s what I like. I’m the kind of player that likes to win balls, go hard. This is, for me, the best league in the world."

Ugochukwu admitted that he studied the game of Super Eagles and Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel while growing up as a kid.

Igho Kingsley 

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