The battle for the international future of 18 year old Rennes midfield sensation Lesley Ugochukwu appears to be far from over despite his status as a France youth international.
The nephew to former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam, Ugochukwu broke into the scene as a 17 year old and his rise was quickly made known to then coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr. He has since blossomed into one of the best young midfielders in the French Ligue 1.
Rohr didn’t show any interest in having Ugochukwu play for Nigeria as he didn’t follow up on his first meeting with the teenager and hjz father, leaving the now coveted midfielder with no choice but to represent France at U19 level next year.
This season he has played five games for Rennes in Ligue 1 firmly establishing himself as first choice midfielder at the club. It meant his sight should naturally be on progressing to the senior national team of France from the youth team.
However that might not be the case, as his father met with Super Eagles captain Moses Simon after Rennes’s 3-0 win over Nantes. A result which helped them move to 6th on the log while Nantes dropped to 19th on the 20 team table.
