Thierry Henry voices his concern over Lesley Ugochukwu’s paucity of game-time at Chelsea
France U21 manager Thierry Henry has asked Chelsea questions regarding Lesley Ugochukwu’s lack of minutes on the pitch since his £25 million transfer to Stamford Bridge.
The 19-year-old signed for Chelsea last summer and has remained a backup midfielder to Moises Caicedo. This has seen him play only 140 minutes of Premier League football.
Before being appointed as Blues’ manager, Mauricio Pochettino stated that it wasn’t his decision to bring the midfielder; it was Chelsea’s board choice.
Knowing that the 19-year-old won’t be a regular starter, this has concerned France U21 manager Thierry Henry, who has led them to win in all four matches so far.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona legend was speaking to L’Equipe, (h/t Mirror) and voiced out his frustration regarding Ugochukwu’s dearth of game time, and further commented:
“The problem is the same with Lesley. Even if the situation is different at Chelsea because in front of him, there are players like Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.’
“But he’s not playing, and nowadays, these players don’t even play with the reserve side to keep their rhythm. At the start of the season, you can benefit from the physical conditioning of the pre-season, but the benefits fade. I hope he can continue to stay on course physically.”
Even though Ugochukwu is only 19 years old, he will undoubtedly get some playing time, but it won’t be consistent because other midfielders are ahead of him. Considering that he lacks experience and that the team already has a wealth of midfield alternatives, Chelsea rushed quickly to sign him. What about Romeo Lavia and Carney Chukwuemeka? What will happen when they get back? Ugochukwu will further fall in the pecking order, and it will be a major problem.
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If we don’t provide the 19-year-old with adequate game time and proper nurturing, things could not work out for him at Chelsea.