Josh Acheampong proves his importance to Chelsea after club rejects offers for him

A report says Josh Acheampong has become an important part of Chelsea under Xabi Alonso, having played every possible minute in the team’s five matches since returning from international duty with England Under-21s. This comes after the club rejected offers from sides in and outside the Premier League, including Bayern Munich, and confirmed that the defender would not leave this summer.

The report notes that Acheampong, who had not been given regular playing time in previous spells, completed the season opener against Crystal Palace, then missed the match against West Ham before returning to play intermittently. He also featured more regularly after Liam Rosenior took charge of the team, but Chelsea fans continued to call for him to be given more minutes.

Acheampong has a flexible role in Alonso’s system: he plays as a right-sided centre-back when Chelsea build their attacks with three defenders, and moves to full-back when the team loses the ball. The report highlights improvements in his defensive performance, as well as his runs with the ball from the back line into midfield and sometimes into attack.

Acheampong is 20 years old, and less than three years remain on his current Chelsea contract. The report expects contract extension talks to follow, noting that the club recently renewed the contracts of João Pedro, Moisés Caicedo, Reece James and Cole Palmer.