Maresca issues update on frozen out Chelsea star after fresh contract talks

Josh Acheampong will start for Chelsea against Astana on Thursday and is close to signing a new contract.

Acheampong is one of the most promising young players at Chelsea but has made just one appearance for the first team this season. He has been frozen out of Enzo Maresca’s side due to an ongoing contract dispute.

The 18-year-old defender is under contract until June 2026 with Chelsea, but the club have been keen for him to sign a long-term deal. He was told he would not play unless he put pen to paper on fresh terms, with his only appearance coming as a substitute in the 5-0 win over Barrow in the Carabao Cup in September.

However, there appears to have been a breakthrough in negotiations, with Maresca confirming in his pre-match press conference that Acheampong will start against Astana, having made the squad for the trip to Kazakhstan. Maresca has taken an inexperienced squad for the Europa Conference League match and confirmed that he would hand out Chelsea debuts.

“He is in the squad, yes, and is probably going to play from the start,” he said when asked about Acheampong. And asked if his presence meant a change in position from the club, the Chelsea boss added: “For Josh, it is quite clear: The club love Josh, I love Josh, and we are trying to find an agreement with the player. We are close, we are almost there, but we will see.”

Maresca had previously admitted that it was a “shame” that Acheampong had not been more involved with the first team this season, while he was also frozen out of the under-21s squad for nearly three months.

“It’s a shame because I really think that Josh, potentially, can be a top player,” he said in October. “He’s still 18, very young, so many things can change for him but in terms of potential in future, he can be very important for Chelsea.

“The only thing is it’s so important for the club that our intention is not to lose him, so the first thing we need to do is find a solution about his contract and his future. The most important thing at this stage is they get minutes, they enjoy it and they play football.

“It’s a bad situation at this moment for him. I don’t know the people who try to solve the problem are helping him or not, but the only thing I can say is that I really like Josh and I would like to have him here with us but it’s not possible.”