Lesley Ugochukwu, a midfielder for Chelsea, is reportedly in loan talks with Southampton.

Last summer, the club paid £23 million to recruit the 20-year-old Frenchman from Rennes to a seven-year deal with an additional year of option.

He was a mainstay in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting lineups for the first half of the season until missing time with a hamstring injury that kept him out of action from December through May. Ugochukwu is highly regarded at Stamford Bridge, but with their vast squad, he may not have many opportunity to play for the first team this year.

The Blues would be able to reduce their roster for the next season and he would get the consistent first-team action he needs to improve his game if he moved to Southampton. This weekend’s acquisition of Pedro Neto from Wolves for £54 million was their twelfth summer signing, and they certainly won’t be the last.

After talks broke down on Sunday night, Atletico Madrid forward Samu Omorodion was supposed to be the next player to come through the Stamford Bridge revolving door.

Joao Felix, who was on loan to Chelsea for a year, is now the center of attention, and the club is rumoured to be interested in signing Victor Osimhen, a center forward from Napoli.

Trevoh Chalobah is a Crystal Palace alternative, Romelu Lukaku wants to join Napoli, and Armando Broja is coveted by Wolves and on Stuttgart’s wishlist.A £35 million transfer to Atletico Madrid for Conor Gallagher was imminent, however the deal has subsequently halted due to the failure of Omorodion’s transfer in the other way.

If Southampton want to have Ugochukwu in their matchday roster for Saturday’s Premier League opener at Newcastle, they need to finalize his transfer by Friday noon.