Chelsea have explained the reason the club decided to sign French midfielder of Nigerian descent, Lesley Ugochukwu.
The 19-year-old joined Chelsea from French club Rennes on a seven-year contract and his deal comes with the option of having extension at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said the Blues signed Ugochukwu because he has a huge amount of potential and he will continue to develop.
According to a published article on the club’s official website, they also said he is an impressive young player who has already made an impact in the French Ligue.
The duo said; “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.”
Meanwhile in other sports news…
Nigerian singer and songwriter, David Adeleke, professionally known as Davido recently launched a model football talent hunt programme in partnership with the Abu Salami Media and 1XBet.
The talent hunt tagged ‘Davido Dream Football Show’ comes with a designed curriculum that has the potential to develop fundamental technical skills and tactical awareness in young players who are committed to competing at the highest levels.
Chief Executive Officer of Abu Salami Media and Chairman of DDFS, Abu Salami, during a media presentation in Lagos, on Tuesday, said the programme is aimed at empowering and supporting young male football talents between ages 18 and 22 within Nigeria and around Africa.
Salami said; “The Davido Dream Football Show will enable young football talents to realise their dreams of becoming stars in future.”
According to the CEO, the reality TV show would run for 30 weeks with one episode to be shown every week.
“First, we will organise screening of those who will register. Once they are screened, we will organise a series of trials. From that exercise, the best among them will be selected for camping for the final show,” he added.
On his part, Davido who’s the DDFS president, said the reality talent show will birth opportunities for young people across Nigeria and the African continent.
He said; “We all know impact is essential and a show like this will not only engage the minds of the youths, it will birth meaningful changes and opportunities for youths across Nigeria and Africa as a whole. I believe it’ll also set the pace for impact-driven initiative in grassroots football in Africa.”
According to organisers, the selection process for talents to join the show would be based on skill, attitude and commitment through scheduled screenings across Nigeria and camping geared towards training selected talents for trials with partner clubs in Europe.
