The fact that an 18 year old is taking part in a training session shouldn’t be news, let alone the sort of news that is cheering up Chelsea fans worldwide this afternoon. But that’s exactly what has happened today.
The Athletic are among the sources on site at Cobham, where Chelsea are having an open training session, and it’s been widely noted that Josh Acheampong is in the mix.
Why is this so notable? Well, the youngster has been exiled from competitive action in both the senior and youth teams as a way to force him to commit to a long term contract. It wasn’t looking promising – these standoffs have not worked out well for the club so far, at least in terms of persuading players to stay and sign a new deal rather than leave.
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Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong training with the first team
A Chelsea flag flies at Wembley. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
A full Stamford Bridge with the Pride of London banner.
But his return to training indicates that maybe there’s been a breakthrough – we still don’t know how bad Reece James’ injury is, but Malo Gusto was out at the weekend too, and Acheampong now has a superb chance to start racking up some games.
It would be crazy to have such a talented right back exiled while we play first team players out of position there – so we’re delighted that common sense seems to have taken hold for all parties.
Josh Acheampong plays against Barrow. (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Josh Acheampong plays against Barrow. (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Acheampong could be back and playing as soon as tomorrow
Tomorrow night’s game against Heidenheim looks the perfect chance for Acheampong to get a start, and hopefully the new contract follows soon after, and we can put this all behind us.
HIs current deal expires in 2026, and Chelsea are said to have “though an agreement was close” before things fell apart. This clear pathway for minutes over the rest of this season has potentially tipped the balance back towards us.