Everton may have been handed an opportunity to land one of their summer targets after his club made him available in the final weeks of the transfer window.
Toffees chasing midfield additions
So far, the only major exit from Sean Dyche's Everton side this summer has been the sale of midfielder Amadou Onana to Premier League rivals Aston Villa in a deal worth £50m. The Belgian had long been linked with an exit amid interest from Arsenal and Chelsea, but it was Unai Emery's side that swooped to sign him in what was Everton's second-largest ever sale.
But he has left a hole in Dyche's squad, with the 22-year-old having started 23 Premier League games last season and making 30 appearances in total, during which time he contributed two goals.
The Toffees have addressed his exit somewhat with the arrival of midfielder Tim Iroegbunam from Aston Villa, but they are still on the hunt for reinforcements. However, they are missing out on their targets. Dyche's side were keen on signing Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City, but the England international is now set to complete a move to newly-promoted Ipswich Town and is undergoing a medical in Suffolk on Thursday.
The Portman Road side may also prove a problem in Everton's chase for Napoli midfielder Jens Cajuste, with Kieran McKenna's side having agreed a deal with Napoli over a loan deal with no option to buy, and Cajuste reportedly "keen on the move". Should they miss out on both targets, a new option has now been touted as a potential solution in the centre of midfield.
Everton target athletic midfielder
That comes courtesy of TEAMtalk, who report that the Toffees are keeping a close eye on Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu, who is available just 12 months on from signing for the Blues.
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The 20-year-old midfielder impressed at Rennes, persuading Chelsea to spend £25m on his services a year ago. However, he managed just 15 appearances in his first season for the Blues, and the presence of Carney Chukwuemeka, Romeo Lavia and others behind first choice pair Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo at Stamford Bridge means that his first team opportunities look limited.
And the report claims that "Chelsea are prepared to cut their losses and try and sell him this summer", though they will not get anything like their initial outlay back despite the midfielder still having six years left to run on his £45,000 a week deal in west London.
Ugochukwu's first Premier League season
Appearances
12
Starts
3
Total minutes
297
Goals
0
Assists
0
Yellow Cards
2
Perhaps more pertinently in the case of Everton, it is added that "Chelsea are open to a loan move", with Ugochukwu himself being told to find a new club before the August 30th deadline. Still just 20 years old, the French U21 international was described as a player with "insane athletic ability" by football analyst Ben Mattinson on X during his time at Rennes.
Discussing him and teammate Jeremy Doku, Mattinson explained: "Both would [provide] insane athletic ability and technical ability. Very high ceiling players if deployed in a system that utilises their strengths better."
Certainly, athleticism is something that Dyche builds all of his sides on, with his pre-season drills infamous. New signing Iliman Ndiaye revealed what happened this summer, explaining that "it's a lot of running and no footballs."
With that in mind, a loan move for the Chelsea man could be a perfect late window addition for the Toffees.