Josh Acheampong Needs a Loan | OneFootball

Chelsea has been in fine form since the arrival of new head coach Liam Rosenior, winning four consecutive Premier League games before drawing Leeds United at Stamford Bridge. But they’ve had troubles in that time as well.

The Centre Back Dilemma

Centre back has been a recurring issue for the Blues. The club spent the winter transfer window locked in a battle with Liverpool to sign highly rated Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet, specifically to address this problem.

Jacquet ultimately joined Liverpool, and this forced Chelsea to recall Mamadou Sarr from his loan at Strasbourg.

While Sarr is adapting to his new environment, and Wesley Fofana is managed to avoid overload, Liam Rosenior turned to Josh Acheampong to pair alongside Trevoh Chalobah in the heart of Chelsea’s defense against Leeds United. 

How that Position Failed at Leeds

The first half went really well. Chelsea led 1-0 at half-time and added the second goal just 13 minutes into the second half. Moises Caicedo gave away a penalty to bring Leeds into the game 9 minutes after Chelsea’s goal, and Josh Acheampong’s poor judgement and mix-up lead to the equaliser. Cole Palmer squandered a golden chance to restore Chelsea’s lead in added time, missing from three yards.

Caicedo and Palmer both had a hand in Chelsea’s failure to secure all three points, true, but they have given so much to the club that fans barely put the blame on them. Instead, young Josh Acheampong is being targeted by angry fans.

I have always thought Acheampong’s not getting enough game time to develop as quickly as we would love him to. He deserves to play regularly to gain experience, improve, and win the trust of the fans like Caicedo and Palmer. His mistake last night was simply the result of inexperience. He mis-timed the bounce of the ball but had enough time to react and clear it. However, a moment’s indecision and hesitation gave Leeds United’s forward Noah Okafor a chance to pounce. An experienced centre-back would’ve handled the situation a bit better.

The Case For Acheampong’s Loan

The best thing we can do for Acheampong is to find him a club where he will play every week. With Sarr recalled, Fofana not having injury issues this season, there is going to be limited minutes for Acheampong in the Chelsea’s starting XI. Leeds United was his first start in the last eight games. He’s only racked up 769 Premier League minutes over the last three seasons. Compare that to Mamadou Sarr’s 4,347 minutes across Ligue 1 and Belgium Pro League. The gap is huge. He’s playing catch up in that aspect.

If we want Josh to progress quickly, we have to let him go out on loan to play. Young defenders, particularly centre backs, need to be on the pitch, making mistakes and learning to do things better. It’s also worth noting that he played a lot of his youth games as a right-back. It’s obvious he needs to continue his centre back education.

His talent is undeniable and immense, but he’s still naive at times. If we can’t play him regularly and ignore his mistakes, then he’s better loaned to somewhere like Strasbourg or any Premier League team that can guarantee him regular games.

Josh Acheampomg is only 19 years old. Most centre backs mature in their mid-20s. There’s plenty of time for him to grow. Ideally, he would follow the footsteps of Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill, who went out on loan to Championship side Huddersfield and Premier League side Brighton before returning to become a big part of the current Chelsea squad.