Chelsea’s promising young defender, Josh Acheampong, has been sidelined from both the first team and development squad until he agrees to a new contract, with Newcastle one of the clubs keen to sign the teenager.
Despite his current deal running until 2026, the Blues has initiated discussions about an extension to lock in his long-term future, but negotiations have stalled, and now he has been effectively frozen out, per The Athletic.
Last week, The Independent reported that the Magpies were among the clubs monitoring the teenager, along with La Liga giants Real Madrid, while Mark Douglas at the i has previously confirmed our interest in the versatile defender in our search for some of the country’s top young talent.
At Chelsea, it’s thought that Acheampong was viewed as the third choice behind Reece James and Malo Gusto during the summer. However, the 18-year-old wasn’t even included in the squad for Chelsea’s games against Bournemouth and West Ham, even though James and Gusto were not included themselves.
Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell has been open about wanting to source young talent for the future. And in this case, Acheampong fits the bill.
With his contract standoff now well-documented, Newcastle could have some financial leeway in terms of nabbing him. But the presence of Real Madrid is significant and you would think any push from them would result in Acheampong choosing Spain.
Chelsea are cutting their nose off to spite their face and it would not be the first time a brilliant academy player of theirs moves on. Highly-rated Rio Ngumoha recently left and joined Liverpool from Chelsea, with reports that the Blues had considered banning a number of scouts from attending their youth games.
Author : Jacque Talbot
Publish date : 2024-10-23 11:59:06
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The post Newcastle target ‘frozen out’ after contract stand-off – The Athletic first appeared on Foot & Soccer.
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Author : footsoccer
Publish date : 2024-10-23 14:18:47
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