Pictures: Chelsea and France’s Lesley Ugochukwu visits family in Nigeria

Chelsea and French defensive midfielder, Lesley Chimuanya Ugochukwu, visited his family in Nigeria and took to his social media to share pictures of them, Soccernet.ng reports.

Lesley, 19, joined Mauricio Pochetinno’s Chelsea last summer from French Ligue 1 side, Stade Rennais, but has been limited to just ten league games.

His last game came against Wolverhampton Wanderers in December 2023. He has not been able to play due to a hamstring injury that ruled him out of footballing action for six weeks.

Stade Rennais are known to be one of the biggest producers of black talents in the French Ligue 1 with Ousmane Dembele, and Eduardo Camavinga as testaments to the good work put into the academy at Les Rouges et Noirs.

Lesley was born in France and has played for the national team at the U-19 and U-21 level, but is yet to receive a call-up to the senior team.

The 6-ft-2-in tall defensive midfielder is also eligible to represent Nigeria as he has Nigerian roots and is the nephew of former Super Eagles and Seattle Sounders defender, Onyekachi Apam. Akpam also played for Rennais before he retired.

Ugochukwu posted a picture on his Instagram story, sharing how he’s spending his time away from the pitch with his family in Nigeria. The location tag on the picture revealed Owerri, Delta State.

Ugochukwu signed a seven-year contract with Chelsea at the start of his season, assuring himself of a lengthy stay to develop into a world-class midfielder at Stamford Bridge.