While Tyrique George got his first senior goal in Chelsea’s win over Legia Warsaw on Thursday night, it was actually Josh Acheampong who ended up getting a lot of the praise.
He put in a superb performance, playing in 3 positions over the course of the game and excelling in all of them.
Speaking after the game, manager Enzo Maresca said he was “in love” with the youngster and his versatility, hammering home the message that he can go on to be a great defender.
Chelsea’s training video from after the game shows the team in a warm down session on Friday where Acheampong got the typical football treatment upon joining a few team – running down a tunnel of players giving flicks and gentle slaps.
He then got a hug from his manager, and when the rest of the team jeered Maresca said “it’s because they’re jealous.”
We’re not sure why this induction ritual has only come now – he’s been training with the first team pretty regularly all season, and has already made a few first team appearances. In any case, it’s great to see another academy kid fully integrated into the first team picture.
You can see it all in the clip embedded here, with this moment coming after 7 minutes:
Academy pair ready to step up again at next level
Josh and Tyrique have been regular features in the Conference League, mainly against true minnows.
But Legia Warsaw are a decent side and play in a really hostile environment. The fact that both of the youngsters played well has hopefully convinced Enzo Maresca that they’re ready for more and more advanced action.
We’d dearly love to see more Premier League starts for both of them before the season is out – but given there’s a lot to play for, we’re not counting on it.
