'The Headline Performer Has Undoubtedly Been Uwakwe' - Chelsea Hail Gifted Midfielder

English Premier League club Chelsea have acknowledged that gifted Anglo-Nigerian midfielder Tariq Uwakwe was the standout performer among the loanees in the past one week and it was an easy decision.

The former England U18 international, who is spending the whole of this season on loan at Accrington Stanley, netted a hat-trick on his professional debut in an EFL Trophy clash against Leeds United U21s on September 8 and things got better for him four days later as he opened his account in his first game in the League One.

Uwakwe's feat is remarkable considering the fact that his last competitive game was more than six months ago, on March 2, and featured in only one friendly for Chelsea's development squad before heading out on loan to Accrington Stanley.

In their latest review of the players out on loan, Chelsea's official website wrote on Uwakwe : "The headline performer in the past seven days has undoubtedly been Tariq Uwakwe.

"The Academy midfielder marked his Accrington Stanley debut with a hat-trick against Leeds Under-23s in the midweek EFL Trophy action, that game ending 7-0, and backed it up with a superb curling effort against Peterborough on his first senior league appearance.

"His strike from outside the box sealed an impressive 2-0 victory for Stanley against a hotly-tipped Posh outfit."

Meanwhile, another player of Nigerian descent loaned out by Chelsea in Ike Ugbo made his third consecutive start for Cercle Brugge in a 2-0 loss to RSC Anderlecht in a Belgian First Division A match on Sunday.

Igho Kingsley