16-Year-old Nigerian Dubbed The 'New Patrick Vieira' Added To Rennes Champions League Squad

Published: October 20, 2020

Nigerian midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu,16, is seemingly in contention to make his debut for French club Rennes in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

The first-year professional was added to Rennes' Champions League squad list via the List B ahead of their Group E opener against Russian Premier League side Krasnodar at Roazhon Park tonight.

Though this is a long shot, he would become the second youngest Nigeria-eligible player in history to debut in the Champions League should he feature against Krasnodar.

Ex-Anderlecht left-back Celestine Babayaro (16 years and 87 days) is the youngest player in Champions League history, with Dominic Solanke (17 years, 1 month and 7 days) and Stefano Okaka (17 years, 1 month and 18 days) the second and third respectively.

Blessed with excellent physical attributes, powerful and tall for his age, Ugochukwu has been likened to former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira.

The 2004-born Ugochukwu has seen his profile rise on the back of his imperious display for Rennes youth teams and was rewarded with a professional contract in July before making his debut in the UEFA Youth League a month later.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : instagram.com/l.ugochukwu8

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