England U21 manager Lee Carsley praised Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong but emphasized that the young defender needs consistent game time at the club level to continue his development and fulfill his potential.
According to a report from Chelsea News, England under-21 boss Lee Carsley has sent a clear message to Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong, warning the 19-year-old talent about the necessity of regular first-team football.
Summary: England U21 coach Lee Carsley has publicly praised Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong but stressed the importance of the defender receiving consistent playing time amidst a lack of recent minutes, especially after he was linked with Borussia Dortmund in the summer and a move to Serie A.
Acheampong, a product of the club’s famed Cobham academy, was promoted to the first team last season and has impressed, scoring his first Chelsea goal in the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest.
Despite being one of Chelsea’s better performers, he has struggled for minutes, having not played for Chelsea since the 4-3 win against Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
The teenager has been an unused substitute in the three games since then in all competitions.
This lack of playtime comes as manager Enzo Maresca appears to have settled on a first-choice centre-back pairing (Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana) that helped the Blues record their first back to back clean sheets since May (against Tottenham and Wolves).
Acheampong was, however, active for the England under-21s over the recent break, playing 90 minutes in both games. Carsley, who was “full of praise” for the defender, told England’s in-house media: “Josh is a player we rate highly and he’s doing well at Chelsea.
He’s got a lot of potential and he just needs to keep playing and getting the experiences he’s getting with club and country.”