Antwerp lagging behind Watford, Eintracht Frankfurt, 2 other clubs in race for Chelsea's Nigerian striker

Published: June 07, 2021

Allnigeriasoccer.com can exclusively report that Belgian First Division A side Royal Antwerp are lagging behind in the race for the services of Chelsea's Nigerian striker Ike Ugbo.

The former England U17 star, who has pledged his international allegiance to the Super Eagles, is currently on a two-week vacation with his friends and will make a decision on his next career move in the coming days.

Ugbo will enter the final one year of his contract with Chelsea on July 1 but wants to move on to pastures new, this time permanently, due to a lack of first-team opportunities, with the striker yet to make his competitive debut for the Blues since turning professional.

Antwerp monitored the performances of Ugbo in the recently concluded season but the Super Eagles hopeful is set to reject advances from the four-time Belgian champions.

The 22-year-old is leaning towards joining a club playing European football next season, putting the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Monaco in the driving seat for the attacker, and a return to England cannot be totally ruled out.

He had an outstanding season at Cercle Brugge and was Chelsea's top-scoring loanee with 17 goals in all competitions.

There's a gentleman's agreement between Ugbo's camp and the Chelsea hierarchy for the Premier League side not to bother negotiating with clubs based in specific countries as the player is not interested in moving to the leagues.

Premier League side Watford and Racing Genk are also trying to secure the services of Ugbo for next season.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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