Liam Rosenior left Josh Acheampong out of Chelsea’s matchday squad against Newcastle United.
Rosenior started five defensive players, including Reece James in midfield, and named another four on the bench.
Therefore, Acheampong’s omission stood out because it showed how far down the pecking order he must be.
Rosenior explained his team selection with a comparison to Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo and Mamadou Sarr.
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Liam Rosenior on Josh Acheampong
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Liam Rosenior explains Josh Acheampong’s absence vs Newcastle
Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah are Rosenior’s first-choice central defenders, having started against PSG and Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Badiashile, Adarabioyo and Sarr were also preferred to Acheampong for Chelsea’s latest Premier League match.
Some Blues supporters might have assumed that Acheampong was injured, but Rosenior confirmed that was not the case.
He told Football.London: “Josh, for me, that’s just a decision I made in terms of the bench, what we needed for a really physical, dominant Newcastle team when it comes to set plays.
“Having Benoit, Mamadou and Tosin to deal with that, I felt, was a better way to go. Josh is not out of my plans at all, and he comes back into my thinking for Tuesday.”
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Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile of Chelsea react
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Acheampong must be concerned that he ranks sixth among Chelsea’s central defenders, especially when they are out of form.
The Blues have not kept a clean sheet since their 4-0 FA Cup fourth round victory over Hull City over a month ago.
It raises the question: why was Acheampong not allowed to leave the club on loan in the January transfer window?
While he is only 19 years old, he would benefit from playing regular first-team football sooner rather than later.
Chelsea fans may soon start to worry about Acheampong becoming unhappy and wanting to leave permanently.
This would be an unmitigated disaster, given that he has the potential to develop into a world-class defender.
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