Chelsea defender omitted from squad amid Newcastle United interest as January move lined up

Acheampong is currently frozen out at Chelsea after being told he will not play for the first-team or the development squad until he signs a new contract, as reported by The Athletic. His current deal expires in 2026 and talks over an extension have been opened but nothing has been finalised.

After the Blues missed out of signing Pedro Lima from Sport Recife to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer, Acheampong was regarded as third choice right-back behind Reece James and Malo Gusto. However, the 18-year-old wasn’t even named on the bench for games at AFC Bournemouth and West Ham United last month, despite the pair being unavailable through injury.

Acheampong has made just one senior appearance this campaign after coming on as a substitute in the Carabao Cup win over League Two side Barrow last month. He has not been in the matchday squad since then.

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Tellingly, however, the defender has not played for the under-21s since September 15 despite starting four of their first five games this term. It means he has gone nearly a full month without representing Chelsea at any level.

It was reported by The Independent earlier this week that Newcastle, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring Acheampong, however so too are Real Madrid, who are reportedly considering a January move.

Newcastle have Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier as their senior options at right-back, however the latter is currently sidelined with a hamstring issue and continues to be linked with a move away after turning 34-year-old last month.

The Magpies, however, do have a highly-rated teenage right-back of their own with Leo Shahar, who joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer, impressing for the unde-21s and at England under-17s level.