New Premier League manager "rates" Chelsea prospect and could affect obvious loan decision
01/02/2025 01:00 PM
January is upon us, and as is traditional at Chelsea at this time of year, all the talk is about loans.
There are potentially some permanent sales (and maybe even purchases) to come, but these first few days are usually spent tweaking the temporary moves made in the summer which aren't working out. Last year we saw Andrey Santos' disaster spell at Nottingham Forest ended, for example. He was moved to Strasbourg, where he had an excellent time and remains to this day after extending the loan for another year.
This season's Santos looked to be Lesley Ugochukwu – a strong central midfielder sent to a team towards the bottom of the Premier League where he's struggling for minutes. But unlike Santos, who left Forest within days of the window opening, the Frenchman looks like he might yet stay put, despite a bad start on the South Coast.
Second chance is a risk – but may be one worth taking
The change in manager at Saints has come at just the right time for Ugochukwu. Ivan Juric didn't play him in his first game in charge, but according to the BBC's Adam Blackmore, that could change soon. Blackmore says Ugochukwu's future is "now brighter" following the change, that the manager says the youngster will stay "as things stand" and that Juric "certainly rates him."
The 20 year old's second half appearance against Palace on Sunday was good – we wonder if it earns him a start this weekend?
#SaintsFc boss Ivan Jurić just confirmed to me that Max Cornet will head back to West Ham this month – no shock there !
However, Lesley Ugochukwu's future at Saints is now brighter under Jurić and the manager says he'll stay as things stand – Jurić certainly rates him
— Adam Blackmore (@AdamBlackmore) January 2, 2025
It's a risk, given how things have gone so far, but we can see why Chelsea might persevere with this deal despite the bad start. They could give it until the end of the month to see how things go, and pull the ejector seat at the end of the window and send Ugochukwu elsewhere if there are no changes.
