It was a proud night for the Chelsea academy as plenty of Blues youngsters featured during Thursday’s win over Djurgarden in Europe.
Chelsea secured an impressive 4-1 away victory in the first leg of a Conference League semi-final tie against Swedish opposition Djurgarden. It’ll now take a minor miracle for them not to finish the job next Thursday in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
The big hitters of Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson (two) were all on the scoresheet in Stockholm. However, the Blues academy must be delighted to see so some of their past and former talents involved.
Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George, who started the season in Chelsea’s Under-21s side before a permanent promotion to the first team midway through the campaign, were both in the XI against Djurgarden.
On top of that, 16-year-old prospect Reggie Walsh was handed his senior debut in the closing stages. Nicolas Jackson praised Reggie Walsh after the teenager’s debut, which included a superb shot on target that was parried by the opposition goalkeeper.
Photo by Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Photo by Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Benoit Badiashile tips Josh Acheampong for big future
Following Chelsea’s win over Djurgarden, Blues defender Benoit Badiashile, 24, praised teammate Josh Acheampong after his performance. He even tipped the versatile 18-year-old star for a successful future in the game.
Badiashile said via Chelsea’s official website: “Josh is a really good player who can be a top, top player. He’s someone who loves to listen and to work so we will try to help him reach the highest level.”
Acheampong made his 11th first-team appearance of the season in the Djurgarden victory as the academy graduate continues to grow in stature.
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The teenage defender started the contest at right-back and impressed in the role during the first half. In the second period, he showed his versatility by swapping across to left-back, plus he was inverting into midfield positions from there.
Minutes played Touches Accurate passes Successful dribbles Interceptions Dribbled past Duels won Duels lost Match rating
90 109 86/88 (98%) 1/2 (50%) 1 0 5 3 7.4
Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong vs Djurgarden via FOTMOB
Blues head coach Enzo Maresca said he “fell in love’ with Josh Acheampong in April after his performance in the Conference League against Legia Warsaw.
While Chelsea’s involvement in the Conference League does frustrate plenty of supporters, it’s turned out to be a great platform for the likes of Acheampong and George to get more first-team football under their belts.
Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images
Chelsea will look back on Josh Acheampong U-turn as huge moment
Earlier in the 2024/25 season, Acheampong was in the spotlight because there was a lot of talk about the future of the Blues youngster.
Eventually, the homegrown talent signed a contract extension with Chelsea, which has since led to more first-team opportunities.
Back in December, it was claimed that Josh Acheampong wasn’t convinced about signing a Chelsea deal due to fears of his path into the senior team. The good news is that he committed a U-turn and pledged his future to the club.
On paper, he ticks so many boxes as a young defender with a massive future ahead of him, displaying so many great physical and technical attributes. We expect to see him kick on and grow into an important first-team player as times goes on.