[Chelsea](https://chelseanews.com/) came into the 2025/26 Premier League and Champions League seasons short-handed in defense, and the ACL tear to their best defensive player, young center back Levi Colwill, should have been a warning shot to sign some players back there.
Even when Colwill was healthy, defense was a weakness for Chelsea. Wesley Fofana has never been healthy or effective, Trevoh Chalobah has long been on the chopping block, and Tosin Adarabioyo is a mid-table level player.
Benoit Badiashile, when healthy, has been a decent player for Chelsea this season, and Chalobah and even Adarabioyo had a bit of a purple patch at the beginning of the season.
But by and large, Chelsea, as expected, have been held back by a poor defense, and manager Enzo Maresca has been rightfully – and royally – upset at the Chelsea board for not backing him with a real signing after the Colwill injury.
There has been a bright spot, though. Maresca and Chelsea were inundated with transfer offers for young Josh Acheampong, but they would not even loan the 19-year-old prospect to Borussia Dortmund or anyone else interested.
Acheampong has now made four starts for Chelsea, and the young right back has already been the team’s best center back, rendering Malo Gusto obsolete as a backup to Reece James, too.
He has been tremendous, barely needing to make a tackle. Attackers cannot dribble past him either, and with a ratio of 1.4 interceptions to 0.2 dribbles completed allowed per game, Acheampong is honestly one of the best shutdown defenders in the entire Premier League.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.