Chelsea have announced a 20-man squad for Thursday’s Conference League clash against Astana with Enzo Maresca including several youngsters.
As expected, a host of senior players have been spared the eight-hour flight to Kazakhstan for the penultimate first stage fixture, with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill and Nicolas Jackson all staying behind in London.
Therefore a number of Cobham graduates have been selected to supplement Maresca’s usual cast of fringe players for this competition.
Perhaps the most notable inclusion is that of young full-back Josh Acheampong, who is close to reaching an agreement on a new long-term contract with the Blues and is in line to make his first appearance in almost three months.
“He’s in the squad,” Maresca said of Acheampong in the pre-match press conference. “And probably he’s going to play from the start.
“With Josh it’s quite clear. We all love Josh. The club loves Josh. I love Josh. And we are trying to find an agreement with the players. We are close. We are almost there.”
In addition to Acheampong, Samuel Rak-Sakyi and Tyrique George will be hoping to add to the senior minutes they have already been handed this season.
Josh Acheampong is set to start for Chelsea against Astana
Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Meanwhile, the senior figures in the squad are Filip Jorgensen, Axel Diasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Pedro Neto with Marc Guiu looking to add to his goal against FC Noah.
Academy players Richard Olise, Kaiden Wilson and Ato Ampah are all involved with the Chelsea senior squad for the first time. Though Kiano Dyer, Shim Mhueka and Harrison Murray-Campbell are included once again.
Chelsea squad vs Astana
Goalkeepers: Filip Jorgensen, Lucas Bergstrom, Max Merrick
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Defenders: Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Josh Acheampong, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Richard Olise, Kaiden Wilson
Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Kiano Dyer, Sam Rak-Sakyi, Harvey Vale
Forwards: Pedro Neto, Ato Ampah, Tyrique George, Marc Guiu, Shumaira Mheuka
In truth, the Blues can afford to rotate heavily given their 100 percent winning record in the Conference League so far as they find themselves on the verge of securing a place in the last-16 with a couple of games to spare.