Chelsea boss expects Acheampong and George to feature

Enzo Maresca is confident Josh Acheampong will be a part of his squad this season and does not want to send the young defender on loan after he signed a new deal.

Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday that Acheampong, 18, has agreed a contract that runs until June 2029.

He made his full senior debut in last week’s Europa Conference League victory over Astana in Kazakhstan and was also named among the substitutes for the victory over Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday – which signalled the end of a long-running contract standoff.

“I’m very, very happy,” head coach Maresca said after news of Acheampong’s new deal was announced.

“With Josh it has been quite clear. He has been with us since pre-season. I didn’t know him personally, but after two, three days that he was there, he really impressed me.

“I was trying to understand the situation with him in terms of his contract, and now finally, the club has found an agreement with him and we are happy because we are all convinced he can be a great player for this club.”

Maresca suggested that Acheampong is ready to feature in the Premier League, as well as in Europem for the Blues, rather than going on loan.

“My personal opinion is that he has to stay close to us. If we can keep him here, it’s much better,” Maresca said.

The Chelsea boss also confirmed that another youngster, Tyrique George, could see more time on the pitch in the coming weeks because of the club’s busy Christmas schedule.

“We have three or four games before January… for sure Tyrique is going to get minutes,” Maresca said.

“We are trying to help improve every day – him and Josh – to allow them to get minutes in the Premier League.”

George could be called upon in the absence of Mykhailo Mudryk, who has been provisionally suspended after an analysis of a urine sample taken as part of a test conducted in the autumn showed an adverse finding.

Mudryk denies wrongdoing and has said he is in “complete shock” at the result.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Conference League fixture against Shamrock Rovers, Maresca came out in support of his player.

“We all believe Mudryk is innocent,” he said.

“I don’t think Misha’s Chelsea career is over. I think he will come back. We don’t know when, that is the only doubt we have in this moment. But for sure, he will be back.

“We all support Misha. The situation is a bit more clear. We have a statement from the club, who have already said what we need to say, so there is not anything to add. All the players inside the training ground support and trust Misha.”