Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Chelsea could see one of their talented youngsters poached away if they are not careful.
Chelsea face losing one of their talented youngsters to a European giant. The Blues have their fair share of young talent, but with such a competitive first team squad, even after the summer streamlining, the Blues are unable to offer regular minutes to those young players.
Over the years, the Blues have done a good job of loaning out their young players en masse, but there are always some players who get caught between not finding a loan club and not finding a spot in the manager’s first team plans.
Young talent Josh Acheampong is one of those players, with the 18-year-old highly rated, coming up through the academy and representing the England youth groups almost all of the way through. The versatile full-back who can also play in midfield, has one league appearance to his name at senor level for Chelsea, and it doesn’t look like he is in Maresca’s short to medium term plans.
Bayern Munich are reportedly looking to take advantage of the decision, with journalist Felix Johnston writing: “Tentative progress has been made on the Chelsea side. Chelsea are really pushing and talks are on-going. They don’t want the situation to drag on.
“One area where progress has been made is Chelsea presented a potential idea for a loan to Strasbourg in the future. In talks on pathway, this was initially a stumbling block, as it wasn’t desired by the player, but I’m told he’s now more open to it after talks. There are a lots of clubs interested in Acheampong. In addition to PSG, Real Madrid, Dortmund and Liverpool, I’m told Bayern Munich are very interested. They are promising the player immediate 1st team minutes. Liverpool’s pursuit is linked to the Trent Alexander-Arnold situation. PSG are very interested, but to this point it’s not the player’s preferred destination.”
What Maresca has said
Chelsea boss Maresca said back in late October: “To be honest, I feel a bit of a shame for Josh because this kind of game could be an opportunity for him. It’s a shame because I really think that Josh, potentially, can be a top player. He’s still 18, very young, so many things can change for him but in terms of potential in future, he can be very important for Chelsea.
“The only thing is it’s so important for club that our intention is not to lose him, so the first thing we need to do is find a solution about his contract and his future. The most important thing at this stage is they get minutes, they enjoy it and they play football.
“It’s a bad situation at this moment for him. I don’t know the people who try to solve the problem are helping him or not, but the only thing I can say is that I really like Josh and I would like to have him here with us but it’s not possible.”
Continue Reading