Chelsea: Southampton confirm stance on Lesley Ugochukwu future | OneFootball

Blues midfielder has come back into the Saints side in recent weeks

Southampton boss Ivan Juric is desperate to hold onto Chelsea loanee Lesley Ugochukwu this month, despite the relegation-threatened side facing a transfer dilemma.

However, top-flight rules stipulate that clubs are only allowed two players on loan from Premier League rivals and Southampton are already using both slots on Ugochukwu and West Ham’s Maxwel Cornet.

Ugochukwu had fallen out of favour under Russell Martin, who was sacked earlier this month, and at one stage an early end to his season-long loan looked a real possibility.

However, Juric has since made the 20-year-old a key part of his midfield plans and has no intention of terminating his deal.

“I want him to stay here,” Juric said. “He has great potential. The people from Chelsea are not stupid. He is a really young guy, 20 years old and it's not always easy to work with youngsters. I think he has really good potential."

Cornet, however, looks set to see his loan spell cut short.

The Ivory Coast winger has not featured since the Carabao Cup meeting with Stoke City at the end of October.

"Yes, that's the idea that he goes back to West Ham,” Juric confirmed.