It ought to be cause for celebration that four academy youngsters could play a part for Chelsea in Greece on Thursday, but that Josh Acheampong is not among them will do little to ease concerns over the link between youth and senior ranks at Cobham.
Lucas Bergstrom, Samuel Rak-Sayki, Tyrique George and Shumaira Mheuka have all been included in the travelling party for the Conference League meeting with Panathinaikos, with Enzo Maresca opting to leave five senior players at home, in addition to those he never registered for the group stage campaign in the first place.
Ordinarily, Acheampong, who made his senior debut under Mauricio Pochettino in May, would surely be part of that group. The 18-year-old is highly rated by the club, came off the bench in the Carabao Cup win over Barrow last month and had been part of Maresca’s squad on the pre-season tour of the US.
Such excitement is there around the right-back among supporters that, with Malo Gusto and Reece James both sidelined for the trip to Bournemouth last month, many were keen to see him given an early chance in the Premier League.
Instead, though, Acheampong has effectively been frozen out, not only from first-team action but also from the Under-21 side, having been told by the club that he will not feature again for either until he signs a new contract.
The England youth international still has more than 18 months left on his existing deal, but Chelsea will not entertain the risk of players entering their final year and are keen to secure his long-term future now.
In the meantime, Acheampong has not been in either a senior or U21 squad in a month now, but was, tellingly, fit to play for England U20s during the international break.
Maresca on Wednesday admitted his frustration at a “bad situation” and called for an end to the stand-off, backing Acheampong to go on to become “very important player for Chelsea”.
Chelsea will have their reasons for taking such a hardline approach, though from the outside it is difficult to see, coming at a moment when fans are scrutinising the club’s treatment of its own, after Conor Gallagher’s ‘pure profit’ value saw him nudged towards the exit door this summer.
That saga, coupled with several windows now of lavish external recruitment – particularly of young talent – means the best academy graduates may need fresh convincing that there really is a way through at Stamford Bridge.
The irony is that the Blues have an excellent recent record of developing young talent, better, indeed, than many of their leading rivals.
Half of the back-four that started against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday was homegrown, while five of those in the triumphant Champions League final matchday squad three years ago spent at least part of their youth development at Cobham.
Which is why, for all the dismay at Acheampong’s current absence, there will be genuine excitement should any of his four peers feature tonight.
Goalkeeper Bergstrom, who joined Chelsea in 2018 and is already a Finland international, appears unlikely to play, given Maresca confirmed yesterday that Filip Jorgensen has come through concussion protocols to continue as cup goalkeeper (and perhaps, given Robert Sanchez’s iffy form, put up a case for the No1 shirt).
But Maresca has already shown his willingness to use winger George, who made his debut against Servette in the qualifying round and played against Barrow as well.
Meanwhile, for Rak-Sayki – younger brother of Crystal Palace’s Jesurun – and Mheuka, who only turned 17 on Sunday, inclusion in the travelling party if a positive step, even if Thursday proves too soon for their respective debuts.
“They have been with us already for different sessions,” Maresca said. “Sam [Rak-Sayki] is a good profile, a midfielder, he can play all the midfield [roles], in between the lines.
“And Shim [Mheuka], we use him as a striker and as a winger. They are good profiles, young ones, and it will be a good experience for them to stay with us.”
