With some fanfare, and after a multi-month contract standoff, Josh Acheampong, still just 18 at the time, was officially added to the Chelsea first-team squad halfway through last season (after signing a new long-term deal).
And he would go on to feature heavily in our Conference League-winning campaign, starting all but one of our knockout-round matches — until the final, where he’d just sit on the bench in favor of the actual first-teamers. Meanwhile, he’d make a couple Premier League starts as
well, and also get the nod once at the Club World Cup.
All-in-all, a decent first season with 14 appearances at senior level, rarely looking out of place playing mostly at right back, but equally capable in the center as well.
But minutes at Chelsea may not be as available next season, with upgraded ambitions and continental competitions on tap. So a loan move is likely for the now 19-year-old defender ... or at least that’s what the club would prefer to do. Acheampong himself might have different notions, with the BBC reporting that he “continues to seek assurances over game time”.
That same report also claims that AFC Bournemouth are keeping an eye on him, as an “alternative option of interest” should their primary options of interest not pan out.
The Cherries have seen their squad cherry-picked a bit this summer, especially at the back, with Kepa choosing Arsenal over them, Dean Huijsen moving to Real Madrid for big moneys, Milos Kerkez leaving for never-big-spenders Liverpool in another big-money deal, and Illya Zabarnyi about to do the same to PSG. That’s four of their usual back-five gone, and while they’ve brought in Đorđe Petrović to upgrade on Kepa and also acquired left back Adrien Truffert from Rennes, they’re looking a bit light in the middle especially if (when) Zabarnyi leaves. Acheampong would fit in nicely, though it sounds like Bournemouth aren’t really interest in a temporary loan solution. So a buy-back it is then...
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