Ike Igbo is having a breakout year in the Belgian Pro League with Cercle Brugge where he is on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
On his fifth loan spell away from Stamford Bridge, Ugbo is starting to show why he is held in high regard by his parent club.
Born in England to Nigerian parents, Ugbo has represented England at the youth level (U17 & U20). But he is still eligible for Nigeria haven’t not turned out for England’s senior side before.
The player has now committed his international future to Nigerian and dreams of participating at the World Cup with the Super Eagles.
“The paperwork is not quite in order yet, but my agent is working on it”, the striker revealed. “Playing a World Cup is every footballer’s dream, isn’t it?” Ugbo told hln.be.
But who is Ugbo?
The 22-year-old began his football career with Chelsea at U10 level and rose through the ranks of the club.
As an 18-year-old, Ugbo was sent out on loan for the first time to Barnsley for the 2017-18 season.
He spent further loan spells with MK Dons, Scunthorpe United, and Roda JC before joining Cercle Brugge ahead of the current campaign.
The talented youngster has been a bright spark for Brugge this season. He has 10 goals and 1 assist from 18 league matches and is the top goal scorer of the team.
Ugbo plays mainly as a number 9. He has great pace, quick feet, and good balance on the ball. He also cites Tammy Abraham as someone he models his game on.
“I am more of a technical player. I am not a long-ball type of striker.” Ugbo told Goal of his playing style.
“When I was younger, I was watching his [Tammy Abraham] games and analyzing it to see what I could add to my game to benefit me,” he added.