Lesley Ugochukwu: Nigeria target signs contract extension at Rennes

Lesley Ugochukwu has secured a contract extension with Ligue 1 club Stade Rennes.

Ugochukwu gained promotion from the club’s youth ranks and made his senior debut in April 2021 at home against Dijon. He has been handed a one-year contract extension until 2024.

“The return to the professional group is accompanied by the first good news. Rennes-born midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu, 17, has extended his contract with his training club,” the club confirmed on their Instagram page.

“A year ago, Lesley [Ugochukwu] signed his first professional contract. Twelve months later, leaders Stade Rennais have extended the young midfielder for another season, until 2024. Among his three appearances in Ligue 1, last season Uber Eats, most notable is that of the 36th day. Facing Paris, Bruno Genesio established him in the Breton midfield.

Speaking after signing the contract, the 17-year-old midfielder said: “It's a lot of pride. It is the reward for my efforts. I would like to thank Stade Rennais, my parents, and my agents.

“I am very happy. I worked for this. I was very well received in the professional group. It was not difficult to fit in. The leaders trust the young people. It's good for the future of the club.

“The objective is to impose myself in the group, to play more and more matches, and why not to impose myself as a holder? I am a kid of the club and I am very proud of it.”

Rennes Sports Director Florian Maurice explained on why they extended his stay: “It's deserved after what he showed. He's always been in the job. He's a very well-educated boy with a great mentality. It's a treat for a coach to have players like him in training.

“He is eager to learn without being too impatient. He had the chance to be on match sheets and play against Paris. When you're 17, it's still fantastic. What happens to him is deserved. It is not an end in itself. We must continue to work. He must have more ambition. The club is very satisfied with this signing.

“When you're that age, you still have to confirm a lot of things but everything that he puts into training will allow him to progress and take the stage step by step. He must continue to move forward. He really has a high profile. He must aspire to great things.”

Ugochukwu was born in Rennes to Nigerian parents in 2004 and is the nephew of former OGC Nice, Rennes, and Nigeria centre-back Onyekachi Apam, who hung up his boots in 2014 after an injury-hit spell with the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer.