Chelsea are close to signing French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu from Rennes for €27 million.
The 19-year-old has made 47 Ligue 1 appearances for Rennes and has also featured in the Europa League.
He is yet to make his debut for France’s first team, but has played for his nation at U-17, U-18 and U-19 levels.
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Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino recently said the Blues need to increase their options in midfield.
However, Ugocukwu could immediately return to Ligue 1 as he is expected to go on loan to Strasbourg if a deal is finalised, after the Blues’ ownership group bought a majority stake in the Alsace outfit in June.
Chelsea have a plan to sign young talents who have the potential to be future stars of world football as they clean up their bloated squad after spending €700m in the past two transfer windows.