Southampton manager Ivan Juric has expressed his desire to keep Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu at St Mary’s for the remainder of the season. Softfootball gathers the Croatian coach has been encouraged by the youngster’s recent progress despite Southampton’s difficult Premier League campaign.
Ugochukwu initially struggled to establish himself following his loan move from Chelsea but has become increasingly influential in midfield over recent weeks, earning praise for his maturity and work rate.
Juric believes the 20-year-old still has enormous potential and hopes he can continue developing with regular first-team football.
I want him to stay here. He has great potential. Chelsea are not stupid and it’s not always easy for young players, but I think he has a really bright future,
Juric said.
Southampton remain locked in a battle to improve their position in the league table, and Juric believes retaining Ugochukwu would provide an important boost for the second half of the campaign.
