Chelsea star Lesley Ugochukwu says he idolised club legend John Obi Mikel growing up.
Mikel was a midfielder during his playing days just like Lesley Ugochukwu and the Blues’ new signing has told the club’s official website that he used to love watching the Nigerian play in the Premier League.
Ugochukwu will have a very successful career at Stamford Bridge if he can accomplish even half of what Mikel managed to when he was a Chelsea player.
The former Nigeria international won plenty of silverware during his time in west London, including the Premier League and Champions League.
Lesley Ugochukwu idolised John Obi Mikel
Ugochukwu has named Mikel and Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira as two players he liked growing up.
The Frenchman said: “Growing up, watching the Premier League, I liked John Mikel Obi. A midfielder like me. Also, some of my coaches liked to tell me I played like Patrick Vieira. So I watched some of his clips and he’s a top player.”
The next John Obi Mikel
At 19, Ugochukwu certainly has time to develop into a player who is as good as Mikel was when he was still a footballer.
And they both play in the same position, so the Chelsea legend is definitely someone Ugochukwu can try and base his game around if he wants to.
Honestly, we did not really expect Ugochukwu to have a role under Mauricio Pochettino this season. Chelsea bought both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the summer and already had Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher before their arrivals.
A loan looked to be the best move for the midfielder following his arrival from Rennes. However, he has been getting opportunities so far because of the injuries Chelsea have picked up this season, giving him the chance to start his own journey to becoming a Blues legend himself.
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