Newcastle United reportedly have an interest in highly-rated young Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong as they look to continue a transfer policy that has worked well for them.
Acheampong is the latest talent come up through Chelsea’s academy, but one imagines the 18-year-old is going to face a struggle to play regularly in the Blues first-team any time soon.
Capable of filling in at centre-back or right-back, Acheampong has only made two appearances for the Chelsea first-team, and iNews now report that he’s someone Newcastle are interested in.
This follows the Magpies bringing in Lewis Hall from CFC as well, with the club generally seeming to do well with targeting talented young English players.
The report from iNews also suggests Newcastle now have a bit more freedom to spend on new signings after sorting out their previous Financial Fair Play concerns.
Acheampong transfer: Will Chelsea sell another young talent?
Chelsea have shown a willingness to let their academy players leave in recent times, cashing in on the likes of Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and others in the last few years, so it could be that they’ll also sanction the sale of someone like Acheampong.
It looks difficult for the teenager to make his way into Enzo Maresca’s first-team as there’s so much competition in this CFC squad, so it may be that he’d look at an opportunity like Newcastle as a positive step for his career.
Eddie Howe is doing some impressive work at St James’ Park, so it could prove to be a good move for Acheampong, who may well have other suitors in the near future after clearly showing plenty of potential.
Chelsea fans might be concerned, however, that more homegrown players aren’t making it into the first-team, with so much money instead being spent on some under-performing players from other clubs who are yet to really justify the amount being invested in them.