PAUL Onuachu was lost for words when describing teammate Lesley Ugochukwu's performance in Southampton's 3-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Loanee Ugochukwu's impact had Saints within inches of a dramatic 3-3 draw at high-flying Forest's City Ground.
The Frenchman came on at half-time, replacing Flynn Downes, with Saints 3-0 down after first-half goals from Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood.
Ugochukwu made an immediate difference when his long-range effort deflected off captain Jan Bednarek to pull one back 15 minutes after the restart.
Lesley Ugochukwu is on loan at Southampton from Chelsea. (Image: Adam Davy/PA) Onuachu then scored his first Saints goal to cut the deficit to one before Bednarek had a would-be equaliser cleared off the line by Ola Aina in the 94th minute.
Ugochukwu completed the most dribbles (3) and succeeded with all of his attempted tackles, leading to post-match praise from his teammate.
“I don’t know a word to describe him, he is a fantastic player,” Onuachu told the Daily Echo. “He was fantastic both defensively and driving with the ball.
"You could see it on the pitch against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. He came in and changed the whole game from midfield against Nottingham Forest.
“He is a brilliant player. I don’t know what to say about him. As a player on the bench, you enjoy watching him play.
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“When you are on the pitch you enjoy playing with him. He is a fantastic player. He has been patient and has worked a lot.
“You really can see it. He is taking his opportunity in every game. Football is all about confidence, the new manager came in and gave him confidence.
“He plays with freedom and he is not panicked by anything. It’s all about confidence. He is from Chelsea and we will see what happens with him at the end of the season.”
Ugochukwu is now expected to stay at Southampton until the end of the season following an increase in his game time under Ivan Juric.
The former Rennes midfielder was a periphery figure in the latter stages of Russell Martin's tenure, failing to make the squad for his last four games.
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