The stats behind Josh Acheampong’s pre-season as Chelsea opportunity beckons
Enzo Maresca has admitted Chelsea are ‘looking internally’ for a solution to the club’s centre-back conundrum.
The Blues will be without Levi Colwill long-term after he underwent surgery to repair a serious knee injury, with Maresca lamenting the loss of such a key player.
“He is okay now. We are aware that he has to be out for a long time, and it is a big loss for us,” he told reporters on Friday (BBC), adding: “We know how important Levi was for us last season and for the way we want to play.”
Chelsea host Crystal Palace in their first game of the new Premier League season on Sunday, and Maresca needs to have his central defensive pairing identified in time for the big kick-off.
Josh Acheampong’s stunning summer
The likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin Adarabioyo and Jorrel Hato are all available to make up a defensive pairing for Chelsea this weekend and throughout the course of the season.
Indeed, Maresca has confirmed the club will be looking at the options already at their disposal to fill in for Colwill, rather than dipping back into the market.
He said: “We are trying to find a solution internally, but the club know exactly what I think – we need a central defender – but we are looking internally.”
However, one player who has staked a strong claim for minutes is Josh Acheampong.
The homegrown centre-back is still just 19 years old and only has 14 senior appearances under his belt for Chelsea so far.
| Chelsea appearances | Josh Acheampong |
| Premier League | 5 |
| Uefa Conference League | 7 |
| EFL Cup | 1 |
| Fifa Club World Cup | 1 |
But his performances over the summer suggest a player mature beyond his years and well capable of stepping up in the Premier League.
Across 111 minutes in friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan combined, Acheampong completed 106 of his 107 passes, including four into the final third (FotMob).
One error aside, Acheampong was particularly impressive during his 76-minute outing against Leverkusen, making two tackles — winning both of them — one interception and four recoveries, while also winning both his ground duels.
It was a similar story in 35 minutes against Milan, with the teenager making one block and two recoveries, while posting 100% success again on ground duels.
Acheampong — an England youth international — only played once during Chelsea’s triumphant Fifa Club World Cup campaign, going the full 90 minutes at right-back against Esperance in the group stage.
However, he once again acquitted himself superbly, creating one chance and posting 95% passing success, while completing both his dribbles and winning all six of his ground duels, and making one tackle, one interception and five recoveries.
Acheampong is ready for the Premier League test
Football Insider verdict
Translating all of that to the Premier League level is no easy task, but Acheampong is not without experience.
The Cobham product played four times in the English top flight last season — starting twice — while he also made seven appearances to help Chelsea win the Uefa Conference League, with all of them coming from the start.
Acheampong finished in the top three among his teammates in a number of key per 90 defensive metrics, including successful tackles (0.9), interceptions (0.8) and blocks (0.6) — as well as accurate passes (82.8).
This shows a maturity well beyond his 19 years of age and an ability to stand up to be counted in big matches — including both legs of the semi-final against Djurgarden.
Again, the Premier League is a whole different animal, but it’s during a crisis when stars are born, and this could be a huge opportunity for Acheampong to prove his worth to Maresca and Chelsea.