Burnley are set to strengthen in midfield ahead of their return to the Premier League after reaching an agreement with Chelsea to sign Lesley Ugochukwu.
The France youth international, 21, has been granted permission to travel for medical tests and complete a permanent move to Turf Moor.
If all goes to plan, Ugochukwu will put pen to paper on a five-year contract — significantly boosting head coach Scott Parker’s options in the number six and number eight roles.
Central midfielder Josh Brownhill, who scored 18 goals in 44 appearances for Burnley last season, left the club last month as a free agent upon the expiration of his contract.
Burnley have already made 10 first-team signings this summer including defenders Kyle Walker and Axel Tuanzebe, and wide forwards Jacob Bruun Larsen, Loum Tchaouna and Bashir Humphreys.
Ugochukwu joined Southampton on loan in August 2024, a year after signing a seven-year contract with Chelsea.
He played 31 games at the south-coast club, registering three goals and assists in all competitions, but they became the first side in the history of the league to be relegated with seven games remaining.
Ugochukwu gradually established himself as a first-team regular for Southampton, starting their final 11 Premier League matches.
He scored a 93rd-minute equaliser away to West Ham United in April which ensured Southampton avoided the unwanted record of the Premier League’s lowest points tally.
Ugochukwu moved to England at 19 from his boyhood club Rennes. He made his senior debut for Rennes just after his seventeenth birthday, becoming the club’s fourth youngest debutant at the time.
The central midfielder played 15 games in all competitions for Chelsea in the 2023-24 season, his first in the Premier League.
He is also a France Under-23 international and has played 27 times for his national team at youth level.
