Tosin Adarabioyo has become the latest individual to shower Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong with praise, highlighting one thing he does exceptionally well.
In Chelsea’s 3-0 Premier League win away to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Josh Acheampong, 19, stole the headlines. The teenage defender delivered an impressive performance, even scoring his first senior goal with a header.
After the youngster’s eye-catching performance, Troy Deeney predicted Acheampong can be the future of Chelsea’s defence because he looks so composed with the ball at his feet.
The Blues academy graduate, who broke into the first-team squad, has made five appearances already in the 2025-26 campaign. It is quite obvious to supporters that the talented centre-half already has the ability to be an important player for Enzo Maresca’s side.
Josh Acheampong in a Chelsea open training session at Cobham.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Tosin Adarabioyo amazed by Josh Acheampong’s dribbling
According to Blues centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, Acheampong looks better than anyone when he’s striding up the pitch with his dribbling from the back.
The English youngster has already proven in the senior group he can provide cover at full-back. Without a doubt, the emerging talent ticks all the boxes you need from a modern defender, which is why he needs more minutes in the team.
When asked about Chelsea teammate Acheampong, Tosin said via HaytersTV: “Whenever he’s on the pitch I try to give him whatever support possible. Every single day I’m onto him to make sure he’s doing the right things because when I was his age I had people like Vincent Kompany doing the same for me. I think it’s very important to have someone older than you and performing at a higher level than you to be there to support you in any way possible.
“I think we can all see Josh’s qualities. His qualities with the ball, especially when he’s driving with the ball, is unmatched, for me. He’s the best at it. He just needs to continue working the same way and keep that confidence and with time I think he’s going to be a great player for us.”
A dream come true for Josh Acheampong, scoring his first senior goal for @ChelseaFC 💙
He’s been at the club since the age of eight, and it’s his first goal since the U18PL Final in 2023/24! pic.twitter.com/Z4Gcc6Qlvs
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 18, 2025
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Acheampong, who’s earned praise from John Terry, now needs to keep this momentum after starting back-to-back matches in the Premier League.
We’re intrigued to see what kind of minutes he gets in the two fixtures this week.
It would feel incredibly harsh for head coach Maresca to drop him from the league XI despite the fact he’s competing with some senior central defenders for a starting role. We wouldn’t mind seeing him rested in midweek before starting the next league match.
Josh Acheampong before Nottingham Forest against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
What Enzo Maresca just said about Josh Acheampong
Ahead of Chelsea’s European tie against Ajax, Maresca spoke to the media on Tuesday about multiple topics, including Acheampong.
When asked if the teenage defender needs to develop to become a regular starter, Maresca said via Football.London: “We are very happy with Josh, but not now. We are very happy with Josh since last season, but like every player, there is room to improve, especially when you are 18, 19. There are many things that you can look at.
There are so many strong options to choose from in the heart of defence, so the best route is to stick with the form players for periods at a time.