Chelsea of England outcast, Ike Ugbo has sensationally turned down the opportunity of joining Paul Ebere Onuachu and Cyriel Dessers at Racing Genk of Belgium, as he prefers instead to link up with Olympique Marseille of France.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Genk had been in the news all along about the possibility of hooking Ugbo, who last season excelled with their Jupiler League rivals, Cercle Brugge.
However, rather than allow for continuity in his transformation from a loan deal at Brugge to a full contract with Genk, Ugbo has opted for a deal in the French Ligue 1 instead.
That would open up opportunities for a new lease of lfie for the dark skinned striker, who has been loaned severally by Chelsea, with deals at Sunderland of England and ADO Den Haag of Netherlands also under his boots, but he could not be heading for a full contract with Marseille.
A report by Belgian publication, HLN’s Kristof Terreur added: “Genk’s move for Chelsea striker Ike Ugbo has stalled.
“The centre-forward is available from Chelsea this summer and has been undergoing a medical with Genk this week.
“However, negotiations have suddenly stalled, with Olympique Marseille jumping into the battle.
“OM’s approach has turned the head of Ugbo and he is now reconsidering his options. Genk made their move for Ugbo after seeing him enjoy an outstanding loan with Cercle Brugge last season.”
A report by alnigeriasoccer.com added: “There is nothing ‘late’ about Les Phocéens’ approach for the Super Eagles hopeful bearing it in mind that they were credited with an interest more than seven months ago.
“Although Marseille re-initiated contacts with Ugbo’s camp around three weeks ago, nothing is concrete at the moment, leaving Genk in pole position to complete a deal for the former England U17 international.
“Ugbo had ties with France as he was eligible to represent the world champions through his mother before he requested for a change of association from England to Nigeria.
“Genk have reached a club-to-club agreement with Chelsea for the signing of the 22-year-old, who has agreed a four-year deal with the Belgian Cup winners pending a physical.
“The European champions have retained a percentage of future sale on Ugbo’s Genk deal.The striker spent the whole of last season on loan at Cercle Brugge, scoring 17 goals in 34 matches across all competitions.”
