Chelsea have long been among the best producers of young talent in the Premier League.
The academy products might not always become regular starters for the Blues, but there are Cobham graduates all over the country and in Europe, from Marc Guehi to Michael Olise.
Yet, on occasion, prospects are exciting enough to make an impact in the first team, with young defender Josh Acheampong being one of the latest examples.
josh-acheampong-chelsea
It feels like the sky is the limit for the teenager, and yet, there is another talent in the academy today who is arguably even more exciting than he is.
Acheampong's rise at Chelsea
Acheampong has been with Chelsea since he was a small child, working his way up from the U8s to the first team, and making quite the name for himself in the process.
Described as a versatile defender with "elite potential" by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, the youngster spent his time in the junior sides playing primarily as a right-back and centre-back, and has continued to play both roles for the first team since making his debut at the back of the 23/24 season.
In fact, when playing more than five minutes for the senior side, the Englishman has made seven appearances in the centre of the defence, seven on the right, and has even made two on the left.
Josh Acheampong
Aside from his positional flexibility, though, what makes the young defender so exciting?
Well, first and foremost, he might be young, but he is already 6 foot 3 - which helped him open his account on Saturday - and not someone afraid of putting his body on the line, with Mattinson describing him as "dominant" and an "outstanding 1v1 defender."
On top of that, the Cobham gem is also brilliant on the ball, with teammate Tosin Adarabioyo claiming that "his qualities on the ball, especially when he's driving with the ball, are unmatched."
Away from his weekend goal, that was certainly in evidence against Forest, with the defender completing 92% of his passes.
Acheampong Chelsea stats vs Nottingham Forest
In all, the hype around Acheampong is more than justified, and yet, there is another academy gem who could end up being an even bigger star for Chelsea.
Cobham gem could be more exciting than Acheampong
The good news for Chelsea is that there are several seriously exciting prospects in the academy today, from Jesse Derry to Harrison Murray-Campbell, but the most exciting of all has to be Shumaira Mheuka.
shim-mheuka-chelsea-astana-conference-league
The Birmingham-born gem, who turned 18 this month, joined the Blues from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2022 and has become one of the most dangerous attackers in youth football.
For example, despite being just 16 at the start of last season, he ended the campaign with an impressive haul of 11 goals and three assists in 30 appearances across the U18s and U21s.
Moreover, he made such an impression in the academy that Maresca decided to give him his first team debut, and he ended the season with four appearances to his name in the Conference League and one in the Premier League.
This year, the young prospect has been even more effective in front of goal.
In nine appearances for the youth sides, totalling just 793, he has scored ten goals and provided one assist, which comes out to an average of 1.22 goal involvements per game, or one every 72.09 minutes.
As if that wasn't enough, the former Seagulls gem has also been on fire for the national side, racking up a tally of ten goals and three assists in 18 appearances for England's U19, which is a goal involvement every 1.38 games.
With all this in mind, it's not hard to see why talent scout Jacek Kulig has described the teenage sensation as "the future of Chelsea and English football."
Ultimately, he still needs to truly make his mark on the first team, but given his attacking output, it would be fair to say Mheuka is an even more exciting prospect than Acheampong.