Lesley Ugochukwu dropped from France’s Olympic squad upon Chelsea’s request | OneFootball

Called-up by Thierry Henry as one of the four reserve players for the Olympics, Lesley Ugochukwu (20) is set to return to Chelsea following the club’s request.

Injured for the most part of last season, Ugochkwu still managed to show glimpses of his talent and premises to convince Thierry Henry to call him up in his pre-Olympics camp. After having played the full 90 minutes in a 4-1 victory against Paraguay, the midfielder’s game time faded, playing only 17 minutes against the Dominican Republic (7-0) and being an unused substitute against Japan (1-1). The former Stade Rennais midfielder fell down Thierry Henry’s pecking order, with the trio of Joris Chotard (22), Manu Kone (23) and Enzo Millot (22) being trusted by the former AS Monaco head coach during the last two warmup games.

In a statement released this Friday, the French Football Federation announced that “following a request from Chelsea FC, Lesley Ugochukwu will be leaving the French Olympic Football Team and will no longer be available as a reserve player.” With the possibilities of playing a single minute during the Olympics being very limited as a reserve player, Ugochukwu will now return to Chelsea, where he will be able to take part in the club’s pre-season. France have now reached out to the organisers to evaluate the possibility of replacing the 20-year-old midfielder.

GFFN l Grégoire Devaux