Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu admits growing up admiring John Obi Mikel.

The former Rennes starlet's family has Nigerian roots so he was drawn to following Obi Mikel.

Ugochukwu told chelseafc.com: "Most of the time when I saw him on television was the period with (Jose) Mourinho.

"It was a great period. He was such an important player for Chelsea. And when you come from Nigeria, the names of Jay-Jay Okocha and Obi Mikel always come out.

"As a midfielder, what Mikel did for Chelsea inspired me a lot. He was calm. He had composure. He had self-confidence. That's very important for a midfielder, to give confidence to your team. He was strong without the ball, aggressive. That's the kind of player I like. I want to have great achievements like he did."

He also said: "Chelsea is a big club, one of the best in the world, so I was expecting to come here with a lot of training pitches, and a good environment in the stadium. That's what I have been seeing. The crowd is nice, the Chelsea fans are always behind us. The training ground is massive.

"I feel comfortable here and I'm very happy. Chelsea is a family club with a lot of honour and value. When you come and play for Chelsea you have to give everything you have to the team.

"I feel like being a Chelsea player is an honour, and you come here to win trophies because that's what Chelsea do. That's the mindset you need. And that's what I want."